Enigma: Betrayals Becoming
by urbanlegend
Summary: Is she bad at being good or good at being bad? A tale of a bad girl femme seeker and how much trouble she gets into. Set in preEarth G1 and primarily in Kaon. OCish pairing, violence and mild lovin. R & R please, it's much appreciated!
1. Introduction

**A/N: **This the first story that I've _ever_ written with an audience in mind. This part, Enigma: Betrayal's Becoming, is the first in what will be a four part series. I've drawn my inspiration from the last twenty two years of the Transformers, leaning heavily on the G1 continuity and the movie continuity. I first became a fan as a child back in the 80's, now I'm older and in love with it again. So if I don't stick to an exact time line (the hundreds that there are) please don't shoot me. The fact that there are so many deviations in this series, I feel, leaves it open for interpretation.

I'll admit, I know this story starts off slow and I'm sorry. I love build up. I also got impatient writing the first part as the ideas for the second part started flooding my mind. The pace _will_ pick up.

I would like to thank SilverFerretfox for being my beta reader and surviving my constant barrage of "You have to read this!" every day at work. ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara, but Heatseeker is entirely **mine**. Wingnut is mine as well.

-------------------------------------------------

You don't know her. You've never heard of her. Never heard her name mentioned. Never even knew that she existed. That is how she wanted it. That is why she is an Enigma. This is her story. She is allowing it to be told because it is who she was that has made her who she is today. She wants them to know that not only did she survive, but the ghosts of her past have lead her on a path of vengeance.

Their kind are not born. They are created. Some are created out of love of two beings, some are created solely to fill the void in the spark of another and some that are created are done so out of pure vanity. She was such a creation. One mech's vanity and boredom brought her into existence. He had the want to create a partner, a friend and an accomplice. She is sure that most would agree that his vanity is unmatched and that such a quality is what helped lead him to be either famous or infamous in their mind. She would be thankful for her creation, but it seems the mark of Starscream will forever be part of her.

Before the war, before Autobots and Decepticons took arms up against each other, Cybertronians were scientists, artists, doctors, engineers, or defense soldiers. They worked and lived in all walks of life. Starscream was an affluent scientist. He was brilliant and engaging but had an air of superiority about him which could often leave him alone. Of course, like beings, he had friends, but many grew tired of his boasting so he was often left to his own devices. Perhaps, his most well know friendship before the war was with a mech named Jetfire. As friends and colleagues, they traveled to many worlds, learning of new cultures and saw things that were only mythical lure on Cyberton. Shortly after loosing Jetfire on one such expedition, Starscream returned to Cybertron and to lonesomeness. So, he set out to experiment. The initial idea for Heatseeker was created.

She always felt that she was a mistake. Somehow, in all of Primus' great mysteries, she was imbued with a spark that was feminine in origin. Being as he was a complete egomaniac, Starscream decided some of his own personality traits had to be downloaded into the programming of this new being. Not much, just a seed if you will. With this personality, some of the direct essence of his spark made it's way into her. Odd, of course. But she did feel she was a mistake. More often than not, she referred to herself as a freak. There she was in her beginning, a protoform imbued with a femme spark, and the seeds from the personality of one of the grandest egomaniacs and twisted individuals ever created on Cybertron. In her words, she came online on the wrong foot.

Her altmode of a small Cybertronian jet was incredibly fast and her skill was impressive, but he ensured both were limited to ensure control, as were her strength and firepower. Regardless of the limitations he gave her, she was deadly to the right adversary.

Her trade was that of a scientist and researcher, her intelligence and quick wit kept others on their toes, including her creator. For years as a scientist, she stood loyally by his side. Why not? He made her to serve him by his side and she never had a reason to doubt him. They understood each other. When all else failed, no matter how much life threw at them, they always knew the other would understand. For a while, things were good, then the war started.

Megatron's message, that they were a strong and mighty race that should rule others, appealed to Starscream. He felt that fighting in the war would be a lot more interesting than research, and she agreed. Having traveled to other worlds and seen many other forms of life, she agreed that their race was made to conquer. It just seemed to be the natural order of things. Starscream's unparalleled ambition allowed him to climb the ranks at a break neck speed. Heatseeker, on the other hand, was relegated to lower ranks. This was based on the presumption that femmes were weak, useless and often lead by their emotions, not their minds. No one paid mind to the fact that she was just as fast and skilled as many of the other mechs in the ranks. She had trained in the art of Metallikato, had unmatched sword skill, and loved the fight, she was weak in their eyes. She never gave up her attempts to gain respect. She was merciless, ruthless and cruel on the battlefield, killing with a cold efficiency. Yet, she was_ the_ femme, useless.

Imagine, the life Heatseeker was living. Just going to the mess decks became a challenge. The hazing was often severe and repetitive. She couldn't count how many times she had to draw her weapon on one of her supposed comrades, waiting for him to make one false move. These fights and challenges were not anything like what humans may expect. She may have been an anomaly, but they treated her no differently than mech's who were challenged, except that she got it a little more often than they did. Decepticons are like a pack of wolves. They regularly attack each other to determine their stature amongst their peers. Heatseeker would attack back with a vengeance. Early on, this lead to her becoming the silent one in the corner, alone by herself, watching and waiting. If anyone would approach her in a malicious manner, he would be faced with one of her many knives. If he tried to take her energon, he'd get stabbed through his hand or arm as a warning.

She may have suffered at times, but she _never_ pitied herself. She lived for the fight, for the battlefield, the anger, and the chaos. She loved dealing the final blow of death and savored in the suffering of those at the end of her sword. She would watch the spark drain from them and laugh at her triumph.

Things carried on like that for ages... and then they started to change. That is where this story begins, on Cybertron somewhere around her two millionth earth year fighting the war. Before any last battles of which you maybe familiar with, before their first contact with humans. The early years as they know it.


	2. To Obey

**A/N**: The Cybertronian units of time that I'll use in the story from this chapter on, are mostly G1 and IDW. If you'd like to get a better understanding of them, they can be found on Teletraan-1: The Transformer's Wiki. Just enter Units of Time in the search. :-)

--------------------------------------------

It is dark outside, which is just fine by Heatseeker. She wants to be in the darkness. Sometimes she just needs to be enveloped in its embrace. The darkness is the only companionship she seems to have anymore. She finds an undamaged section of wall to sit on, under the twisted frame of what, at one time, had been a lamp post.

She stares out amongst the ruins of once fine examples of Cybertronian engineering, now just haggard and jagged remains back lit by the night sky. Her hands are clasped together between her thighs, feet propped up on a piece of rubble. She stares into the distance and sighs. There is smoke and flashes of light from explosions on the distant horizon. She is all alone with no one to interrupt her. She bathes in the silence. At peace for the moment.

_What has happened all these years? _ She thinks to herself. _We're supposed to be conquering the galaxy. Yet, we can barely conquer this planet, and it's been how many thousands of vorns? How the pit did I get myself into this?_ _There has to be more to it, something greater than conquest. _

_We've lost sight of who we are and who we were. Without knowing this, what foundations can we possibly build the new empire upon? Megatron? Hmph. He lost sight of his purpose eons ago. All his grand talk of being a great race and ruling the galaxy was lost to his own greed for more power. Like all tyrants, his time will come, and I hope to be there to see it. Primus! I'd probably be reduced to ashes if anyone knew what I was thinking. _She scans the area of any movement, seeing nothing, she chuckles reassuringly to herself.

She loathes Megatron. She thinks of him as a slag headed bastard with the determination of a Tolerian bull. He sees her as a vulnerability, weak and more expendable than he views his other warriors. No matter how well she performs her duties, she is never noticed. She's been a stellar apprentice to the Seekers, yet she is still given some of the worst missions possible. It's as if he wants her to fail so that he can make an example out of her. Whether this is because she is a femme or who her creator and only friend is, she isn't sure, but she bets it is a bit of both. Her optics flare a bit brighter for a split second as her temper does the same.

_Damn him! _She kicks the piece of rubble her feet had been resting upon only a moment before. She wishes things were different, like they were before the war. Back then she only had to answer to one mech. Only hold the respect of him. Anymore, he barely had the time to be anything other than Megatron's whipping boy. Yet, he still manages to find the time to enjoy listening to her talk of Megatron's demise, that was probably because of his perverse ambition to fill Megatron's place. Ever since she entered Megatron's world, it has been one pile of slag after another tossed at her. Here she is, all alone on a deserted expanse in what was left of a city with nothing to listen to but the silence of night. She doesn't move, doesn't even consider leaving, she just sits and boils in anger and frustration.

--------------------------------------------------------

"Has anyone seen Heatseeker?" an irritated voice calls out from the door to the mess. It's answered with a chorus of grunts and shoulder shrugs. He doesn't try to ask again. No one ever knows where she goes and he knows they really don't care to answer him. They sure as pit would only say if it involved some sort of drama that could entertain them. Heatseeker's disappearances had been becoming all too frequent, and they may have begun to raise suspicion. He'll definitely have to talk to her about that when she comes back. He'll know where to find her. When she does return from her trips, she'll silently go to her quarters to recharge, and then after, just stare out of a window.

She wasn't always like that. She used to laugh and joke. She even had a biting sarcasm with perfect timing. But the last few vorns, she's had it hard and it has changed her. She's become serious, brooding, silent, vindictive and surprisingly violent. The last time she was cornered in the mess deck, Rumble almost lost an optic to one of her knives. Ever since that encounter, some of the mechs give her a wide berth. It takes serious gears to mess with one of the cassettes, none the less injure one intentionally, even if that cassette started the fight. Soundwave could be quite vicious with his retribution but he allowed her that one time. She is well aware of his rare and unsettling mercy that time, and her mind appreciates it. That telepath can wreak havoc with your circuits if he has a good enough reason to do so. Ever since the episode in the mess deck, Rumble steers clear of her. She, in turn, has a tendency to retreat immediately upon seeing Soundwave, or stay as far away as possible from him.

_Now where is she?_ Starscream thinks to himself, _Time to set some limits again..._

_-------------------------------------------------------- _

A red light is flashing in the corner of her vision. She processes the incoming message. Starscream is looking for her. _So much for uninterrupted peace and quiet_. She stands up and stretches, still staring at the horizon. A smile crosses her face as she contemplates taking her time and making him wait. That won't be happening, though. She knows that taking her time isn't an option. She's not that far from the base but she is tired and doesn't want to fly back. But she knows the grief she'll get if she shows up on foot. She sighs as she looks down at the ashes under her feet thinking, _What have we done to this place? Our home, _as she transforms.

Still feeling a bit defiant upon her return, she decides to transform just short of the entry. Smirking a crooked grin that usually spell trouble, and walking with a saunter that says she is feeling mischievous, she really does look all the part of the Seekers. It doesn't take much to figure out who her creator is. Just one more reason for Megatron to dislike her. She is the expendable version of Starscream. Only, where as he openly shares his intentions, Heatseeker prefers to keep hers to herself, only showing them while she is acting them out. This does manage to make her a bit interesting enough to be slightly entertaining.

Starscream couldn't help but feel a pang of pride upon seeing her. He did well all those years ago. While attractive to look at, she could have been a major distraction if her keen wit, speed and ruthless defense tactics hadn't kept everyone on their toes. Thankfully, he limited her strength and abilities, as well as ensured that she be loyal when her core programming was set. He did this in the hope that her chances of ever becoming more powerful than him were slim. Often a partnership can become a power play. He wanted to ensure the power would stay in his possession.

She waits at the door as it remains closed well past the point at which it should have been opened to allow her in. Arms crossed, she looks up at the camera and narrows her optics at it. She knows this is a bold move considering who is on the other end of that feed. She feels a small twinge of pain in her head that was intended to put her in her place. She doesn't wince at it but instead chuckles while still staring down the camera. _Nice try, Soundwave. _She had her defenses up the moment she narrowed her optics. She knows better. Her telepathic limits are very mild in comparison to his, but she had learned how to use them well enough to somewhat protect herself against stronger telepaths. The one thought she does allow out while she walks inside, _Creep._

"You called?" She sounds annoyed but bored.

"Yes, where have you been?" Starscream asks a tone of irritation in his voice.

"Out getting some fresh air." she responds in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Not the slightest bit phased by her phony sweetness, he sighs tiredly. "Your trips are becoming all too frequent. Others are starting to become suspicious of your activities." He lied, but what difference did it make? It could very well be the truth if he cared to ask. "Take that into concern the next time you decide to turn up missing for mega-cycles at a time."

She stares at him with a look that could turn a mech to ice. "Frag. I need to get away from time to time. I need to be alone. Really alone. Not the alone imposed upon me." He is slightly taken aback by her tone._ Insolent little...when did she get like this? How dare she... _

He responds to her in a stern voice, "How do we know that you aren't out consorting with the enemy?"

Her look of shock turns to hurt, not an emotion usually associated with her. Her shoulder's drop, she looks down and stammers, "I'm not... I wouldn't... I...How could you possibly think that I...?"

He waves his hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "Your future trips will need to be approved by me, is that clear?" She looks up, no expression of anger or hurt on her face, only the look of a trained soldier who realizes their error, "Yes, sir."

"Good. That isn't why I called you here, though. Have a seat."

Head held high, she thanks him and takes a seat across from a bank of windows. She sits so erect he wonders if she is in pain. He stares at her for a moment then speaks in a lower, quieter and less authoritative tone, "Heatseeker, relax." She knows this side of him well, feeling more comfortable, she does as he tells her and relaxes a bit. He draws a long breath into his intakes, "You're being promoted."

Her eyes widen, "What?!"

"You're going to become an alternate for the Seekers. This is my decision. It's a small promotion. No longer being an apprentice means less ground work and more flying. You'll be working directly for me. I think this is best as your skills have definitely evolved and have become quite impressive. Plus," He waves his hand in the air, "you're too good to be wasted in the field. I expect only the best from you, and I know I will get it." He doesn't smile or show any change. "Although, you will still be sent on scout missions from time to time."

She nods and smiles a grin so big, he wonders how her face can manage it. He stands up from his seat and walks to a window, allowing her to bask in the moment before walking over to a chair by her to sit. Smiling for the first time since she entered the room, he now speaks more casually,"Okay, now that all of the business is out of the way, how have you been?" She laughs at his sudden change from being her Commander to just plain old Starscream. She has always felt privileged to be the one to see this side of him, a remnant of who he was prior to joining the Decepticon ranks. A side that no one else gets to see.

She relaxes a bit more. "I've been the same, Screamer. The outcast." She chuckles but her voice sounds a bit sad. "It sucks not having anyone to talk to. The closest things I have to conversations lately are blocking telepathic attacks from Soundwave and mentally cussing him out for doing it."

He gets up, walks behind her chair and stares out of the window again. "One day it'll all be different and they'll answer to me." He rests one hand on her shoulder sending shivers through her. He feels her body shift and relax from his touch and he smirks as _Damn I'm good_, passes across his mind. As if taking a cue from her reaction, he leans down next to her audio receptor and barely above a whisper, says, "And those who serve me well, will stand with me. _You_ have served me well, Heatseeker." He touches her face with the other hand and she become still. She inhales deeply as she closes her optics. When she reopens them, she sees that he has moved back the chair in front of her and is watching her with a languid smile on his lip components. If she could blush, she surely would have. Instead, she gives him a mischievous smile, which he knows well.

"For now, you may go. But don't leave the base. I may need you later."

Her expression is unchanged as she gets up slowly from her chair and walks to the door. Before stepping through the doorway, she turns over her shoulder and answers him in an almost mocking tone that she only used when feeling buzzed as she is from this small little encounter, " But of course," as she bows her head. Whatever Starscream does or asks of her, she'll follow and abide by. It's how he wanted her when he made her.

Free will and choice are only illusions.


	3. Got a Headache?

The air is rushing over and under her wings as she tumbles downward out of control. The ground is rushing up at an incredible speed. She will crash if she doesn't correct herself soon. Smoke is spilling out of an unknown location on her body, it's hard to tell where it comes from when her violently falling form hasn't seemed to turn the same way twice in her doomed decent. Her chronometer is counting the astroseconds and her altimeter tells her it's almost too late to bail. Still falling, the tumbling blur of a jet suddenly changes shape into a robot mode, just shy of the ground.

She lands, knee bent, one hand on the ground, ready to attack. It was such a graceful landing considering how chaotic her approach was. She lifts her head and stares down the enemy, who is now standing in shock just a few vuns from her. He steps back from the demonic grin and fierce glare facing him. She stands up and rushes towards him, her left hand changing into a laser cannon. She fires two shots at him, landing one on his shoulder and the other on his chest. He fires back, hitting her in the leg, but she doesn't seem to notice and does not stop.

Her hand changes back as she reaches both hands behind her and pulls out two long, slightly curved energy swords. He has just a moment to react, but he's too slow. Well, either he is too slow or she is too fast. He feels the slashes across his chest and the deep, searing pain they bring. Just as he stumbles back falling, she's on top of him, driving one of the swords into his spark. Still holding the sword, she leans over, stares coldly into his flickering optics and says in a low, seductive voice, "I faked it." She twists the sword. His face is a mask of terror and agony. The glow in his optics dims but she doesn't rise until they fade completely.

Heatseeker stands up, sheaths her swords and turns off her smoker. _Best ruse ever. A jet in distress. Ha ha ha. _She searches the area for more targets and sees none. Over her comm link, she hears the call to report, the field is clear. Savoring the taste of battle, she transforms and flies off to join the rest. As she ascends, she can't help but to notice the extent of the destruction they created of the area. A conflicted thought crosses her mind, _there is nothing left, again. There has to be a better way..._

_-------------------------------------------------------_

She did well today, as she has done the last dozen or so missions they've been on. Somehow, Starscream's pet has managed to show them how valuable she actually is. Her body count is growing in leaps and bounds, but he can't decide if her ruthlessness entertains him or spooks him out. How she kills her enemy is so personal, so intimate, and yet so cold. The only other Decepticon he's seen that cold sparked is Megatron, and even he doesn't get _that_ close to his prey in their last moments.

Thundercracker watches the femme with caution. She's been around for ages but no one other than Starscream actually knows her, and he never talks about her. She takes a lot of hits for being a femme. She gets challenged as much as the mech's do, maybe even a little bit more and there's always one mech who has to try to break her. As far as he knows, it hasn't happened yet, and how long has it been? It seems like an eternity, and it probably won't happen anytime soon. He watches her, sitting in her regular corner by the window in the mess deck, closely guarding her energon with a far away stare on her face.

Heatseeker is a difficult one to read. She barely talks except when threatened in some manner and even then it's not very much. She does make eye contact but that usually consists of an empty gaze that seems to be looking past you while boring into your spark at the same time. Heatseeker is spooky, but she's good. He'll have to keep an eye on her.

" I know," a voice beside him says.

Startled, he turns to his left to see Skywarp staring at her with the same curiosity. "What did you say?"

Skywarp repeats himself as he sits down in the chair next to him, " I said, I know."

"Know what?"

"She freaks me out too. The silence, that stare, the look like she's one astrosecond away from sticking you with one of her knives or swords. I've never come across a femme like that. It's hard to believe who created her." He shakes his head and chuckles. "Exact opposite..." His voice trails off still chucking as he shakes his head.

"Well, she is quite a looker. Only he would go so far as to ensure that she's attractive, even if she is whacked. His conceit manifests itself in unique ways."

"Can you imagine? She's probably quite a challenge and a handful. You can't trust the quiet ones, and we already know she has a mean violent streak." Something sinister passes across Skywarp's face.

Thundercracker knows that look but chooses to ignore Skywarp's last comment. He continues to study the quiet, red and black femme in the corner. She gets up from her seat, collecting her things. She starts to head out, meaning that she will pass where he and Skywarp are sitting. As she approaches, they both quickly change the subject and look away. Feeling her presence, they turn back. She has stopped right in front of them, staring first at one then the other. They both look back at her with curious expressions on their faces. A moment of stillness passes between the three then Heatseeker gives them one of the creepiest smiles she can muster. Just as matching confused expressions cross their faces, she leans towards them and says "Boo!" and laughs to herself as she walks off out of the mess. The two mech's give each other a sideways look.

Thundercracker speaks first. " Okay, that," he points out the door, " was weird."

Skywarp looks back a the door and says, " Do you think she heard...?"

"Nah... Couldn't have."

They both shake their heads and decide it's time to recharge.

------------------------------------------------------

Soundwave hears a door open behind him. He doesn't turn to see who it is, he already knows. He can tell it's her a hic away. Her defenses are up, as always. She blocks him. How she knows what to do, he does not know, and that puzzles him. As far as he knows, she never had a telepath to teach her how to master her gift. He suspects, that in her pre-war days, she had her fair share of run ins with telepaths and that she learned the hard way. Judging by her actions now, he suspects that all of those telepaths are dead somewhere.

He is amused by Heatseeker. They actually have lot in common, with both being ruthless, cold blooded, calculative, deceptive and conniving telepaths. With a resume like that, they could never be friends. They are enemies of equal understanding, even if her skills are really only defensive, sort of an early warning system. She can communicate mentally only with another telepath, as well as read them if they allow, and she is able somewhat defend herself from them. Unlike him, she can not access the mind of someone who doesn't share her gift. He does know that she can pick up emotional vibrations from non-telepaths, though. She often uses this to her advantage to mess with them if they give her a reason too. He suspects that her abilities are probably a remnant of a wayward programing when she was first sparked.

She sits down at one of the stations, on the far side of the room from him, as she always does, and starts to search archives. She doesn't socialize like the others, she studies. He is well aware of the fact that she is not comfortable with his presence, but the computers she uses for her studies can only be found in this room. Searching the system logs has shown him that she usually studies the history of their planet, its beliefs, culture, and inhabitants. Harmless research from someone who's former life revolved around it. Research is her vice now that her life is violence. She is again studying the Chamber of Ancients and the Oracle pool. She studied both just a few days ago. Odd, but what isn't odd about her?

"Stop it." her voice sounds angered.

He turns around to see her glaring at him. He doesn't respond. He smiles beneath his mask and silently laughs to himself. Randomly trying to read her has become too much fun. He tries it again.

She slams her hands down on the ledge of the work station and lets out an irritated sigh. Her voice enters his mind, "_I know what you're doing. I can feel it. I may not be able to send icy fingers of pain through your mind but I _can_ send a warm knife into it_."

He is not surprised by her threat. He knows that given a chance, she probably would try to use one of her knives against him. He also knows enough about her to understand that she harbors the same treacherous traits as her creator. He is sure that dispatching him at some point would greatly please the both of them. He decides to help her realize the error of her threat. He turns back to watching the monitors and resumes studying them when the wailing begins.

Heatseeker falls off of her chair and onto the floor. Grabbing her head, she is writhing in pain. Her face is twisted in agony and her optics are slammed shut.

He stands up, walks over to where she is at on the floor and stands over her. She's now in a ball on the floor, shaking. This time, he speaks to her because he knows her mind won't be able to register his voice telepathically for a little while after the attack. "Don't _ever _threaten me, Heatseeker. The pain you feel right now is nothing compared to what I can do to you, and you are well aware of that. I am being merciful." He pauses and then adds with as much of tone of distaste as his monotoned voice can manage, "Again."

He gets no response. Nothing audible to his audio circuits or his mind. She groans on the floor and glares hatefully at him as he stands over her. "Get up." He orders. She gets up, the look of total agony in her face, and perhaps a flash of fear? _Hmmm, thats interesting. _ He smiles again beneath his mask, satisfied that he has reestablished control, and walks back to the monitors to resume his work.

She climbs back into her chair, head rested in her hands, elbows on her knees and still shuddering from the pain. There's no point in leaving. Where is she going to go? Right now, her body and mind are weak, and he knows it. She probably won't be able to block anything for a while after that attack. She just stares at the computer screen. She can't concentrate. and she is livid at him. The force he hit her with was unnecessary. She turns around and glares at him in pure hatred. She maybe weakened by the attack, and her face shows her pain, but her optics show so much more. An eternity seems to pass by before she breaks the silence, "That was uncalled for. Why did you have to do it that severe?"

He doesn't immediately respond, and when he does, he doesn't even turn her way. "You needed it."

Heatseeker tries to get up from her chair but just can't. She remains sitting in it, her head pounding and growing angrier by the astrosecond._ Fragging mind scrambling bastard_, she says in her mind. _Slag! He probably heard that. _

"You are correct, I did."

Round two...


	4. A chance meeting

Thanks to everyone who has been reading through on this story. Reviews are much appreciated since this is my first attempt. Since I plan on continuing this story for a while, any feedback will help me to better develop it further.

I own nothing but Heatseeker, Wingnut and a Honda Civic SI which I am convinced is actually a Decepticon plotting world domination while parked in my garage. That car is EVIL. :-)

----------------------------

Blotches of color dance before her optics, shifting, changing and merging together as if they were participants in a cosmic dance. Beyond the quiet, she hears buzzing, whistling and something else. Something far away._ Was that laughter?_ Her head feels like it's shrinking or about to explode. She really can't tell the difference as right now they feel about the same. The one thing she can make out clearly is her own voice. She's groaning in pain and sputtering. _What was **that**__? Who...? Oh. _Through the colors she can see the ceiling to the comms room and realizes that she is again on the floor and on her back. She puts her hands over her face to ensure it' still there and laughs at the absurdity of doing do. Just because her brain gets fried doesn't mean all of her does.

She tries to get up and barely succeeds using the desk to lift herself up, she fails and falls back down. Her body is just too weak. _Not once but twice! TWICE!!! Auuugghh. I can't believe he... yes, I can. Agh. My head hurts so bad that I can't even get angry anymore. Help. Someone? Hahaha. Right. _She lies on the floor laughing, _like anyone **would** come help_. She turns her head to the side and sees Soundwave sitting back at his station, doing what he does best, watching everyone and everything. She in turn, watches him, hating him, since it's really all she can do for the moment.

A few breems go by before she gains the energy to clutch her way back up into the chair. A cycle passes before she feels capable of standing up. Giving Soundwave a very wide berth, she makes her way out of the room and down the passageway to her recharge bay.

She hopes no one saw her staggering attempt at walking back. She would have appeared drunk, thankfully enough. But even that is something she doesn't do often enough to be inconspicuous. The door closes behind her, she falls down and grabs her head again as she leans her back against the base of the recharge bed. The pain is unbearable and there is no cure for it but time.

She hears the soft hiss of the door opening behind her and she quickly stands up, banging her head against the edge of the bed causing her to swear. _Ow! Oh, thank Primus. _It's only Starscream. _What the pit is he doing in here?_

"I hear you had a little run in with Soundwave, eh?" He asks looking mildly amused

"There was nothing little about it and he hit me twice. Hard at that." She is squinting her optics.

" What did you say to set him off?" he is chuckling. "Twice."

"He tired reading me, again, and I told him 'I may not be able to put icy tendrils of pain through your mind but I can put a warm knife through it.' I don't think he cared for that too much." Her anger was growing with each passing moment of recollection." Then I called him a fragging mind scrambling bastard."

Starscream let out a small wicked laugh, "Once wasn't enough was it, Heatseeker? You had to go for another. I didn't realize you were that much a fan of pain." He looks at her with an amused grin.

"Pleasurable pain? Yes. Pain that humiliates me as I lie on the floor squirming in it's grasp? No." She looks as if she is about to race out of the door and introduce Soundwave to one of the knives she mentioned earlier.

"Calm down, calm down. You did have it coming. Don't say you didn't. After what you did to that little mouthy, pest Rumble. You've had it coming for a while. Even I was impressed with how long it took for Soundwave to get angry enough to repay you." He paced around her. " By now, he's surely told Megatron who, _I_ am sure, is very pleased that you were brought to your defiant knees. He'll find someway to harass me about it later." He shakes his head. "That will not leave me very pleased."

" I didn't do it to reflect on you. I did it because I felt I needed to stand up for myself." She was definitely getting angry again. " I hate them both. Soundwave... always watching, listening, using our thoughts against us to win favor with Megatron. Megatron, everything is never enough for him." A dark, menacing smile plays across her face. " Soundwave does have skills we can use. _You _can use. But Megatron..." She lets her last words drift into nothingness. "I dream of the day he is no longer."

A menacing glare slowly takes shape on her face. Still obviously feeling the pain in her head, her face is contorted from it but her smile is pure evil. She looks him in the eye and says, "I serve _you. _One day we will all hail, Lord Starscream." Any chance he had of punishing her for the embarrassment her actions may cause him, she hopes is disappearing with her words of loyalty. She knows this game well. Put him on a pedestal before he gets angry and he maybe he won't put you on your aft. Aft kissing has become one of her finer qualities the last few vorns. She has learnt well from the master of it.

He smirks at her. "And what, pray tell, is your plan for dispatching our mighty leader?"

She searches for an answer and after few astroseconds finds something not quite resembling one, "I haven't thought of one. Yet."

He steps back, raising his hands up, "I didn't think so. I know you'll leave that part to me."

Heatseeker nods and shoots him a small wicked grin. She knows how much he loves plotting. Her head starts pounding again and she puts one hand on her head in an attempt to ensure it isn't about to explode like it feels like it might do any second. "I think it's time for a recharge. That's all that will make the pressure in my head go away."

Starscream nods in agreement, adding in,"you do look a little rough."

She walks over to the recharge bed and sits down on the edge of it. "After my 'charge, can I leave for a while?" her voice is tired and her request sounds half hearted but the pain that is evident in her voice she hopes is enough to make him agree.

"Yes. But don't get lost."

"I promise I won't." She lays down and closes her optics, hearing the door softly swish behind her. He's gone and didn't hear her soft spoken but pained, "Thank you."

--------------------------------------------------------

She'd been wandering around on the abandoned roads for about a two cycles when she first felt as if she were being followed. Yet, every time she turned around to look behind her, no one was there. She heard no footsteps, saw no shadows, heard no voices but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was there. A few more kliks passed when she found somewhere to sit. It was quiet here. No fighting, no battle torn buildings. Just an undamaged and neutral area on the edge of a destroyed region. The perfect place to gather her thoughts.

She still feels the presence near hear. Even though she had recharged after her encounter with Soundwave, her head still pounded unmercifully and she still felt drained. The mere idea of a fight, even in self defense, just isn't settling well with her at the moment. Not caring if she sounds insane or not, she calls out in an aggravated but tired voice, "Look, I don't know who you are or what you want. All I know is that you've been following me for an awfully long time and it's pretty annoying." She waits but there is no response.

Irritated, she switches her optic mode to thermal, if anything is out there she'd be able to see it now. She looks around her from right to left when she sees him. The thermal form of a mech is leaning against the wall to her left, not too far away from her and facing her direction. There is a shifting field of energy around him. _Ha, a cloaking field that explains it_. She returns to her normal optic mode and he is gone. Slightly entertained by this discovery she laughs as she switches back to thermal, he was now moving towards her.

Now slightly alarmed, she speaks threateningly to the stranger, "Stop right there unless you want me to unload a couple of rounds in you." She holds up her left arm and points it at the form approaching her, her hand disappears and a plasma cannon reappears in it's place. It starts to spin as she powers up. Obviously seeing this and recognizing that she was more than willing to use it, the form stops. "Thats right." She says slowly and carefully to the mech. "My weapon can see through your cloak. I see you as well so I think right now would be a good time to introduce yourself."

The colors of his form shift in her vision. She watches the cloak disappear and returns her optics to their normal mode. Standing in front of her is a blue and white mech with an obvious Autobot insignia on his chest. He doesn't raise his weapon at her but she still doesn't lower hers. "Who are you, Autobot?" She remains seated. " And why are you following me? You better answer fast."Her cannon was ready.

"My name is Mirage. I was following you out of curiosity." His unique voice is unnatrually calm considering that he has a cannon pointed at his chest. Mirage's body language has the same air of self importance as Starscream's. She finds this quite amusing. "You try to tell me that a Decepticon femme wandering around by herself isn't the least bit odd to you?"

_Hmm. Cheeky son of a glitch... _She stands up, being a bit taller than him, she looks down her red eyes trying to bore their way into his spark and practically growls, "Does it look as if I can't handle my own, Mirage?"

He raises his hands to her, not defensively but to accent his point, "I'm not here to fight you. I only followed you to see why you were wandering about," he looks closely at her face as she squints in pain again," obviously injured. This is the last place I expected to come across a Seeker. Alone. It's strange." He isn't the slightest bit scared of her and that intrigues her.

The pounding in her head starts again, she sits back down and raises her hand to her forehead. She lowers her left arm as it changes back to a hand again. She's not up for a fight and the Autobot hasn't armed his weapons. "Can you still be heard if you speak while you are invisible?" she asks him, a look of worry crossing her face.

Mirage eyes her carefully before responding with a suspicious sound in his voice,"Yes, why?"

"Then please do so. If I'm seen conversing with an Autobot, I'm going to have nothing but trouble unless I end you shortly there after. Being accused of talking to myself, I can deal with. I've dealt with worse. I'm not in the mood for killing today." She looks off into the distance and mumbles, "surprisingly enough." When she turns back he is gone. "Are you still there?" She is tired and doesn't want to keep switching her optic mode, it'll lead to worse pounding in her head if she continues to do so.

His disembodied voice answers back, "Yes, now tell me who_ you_ are and why you are here."

She nods and looks around seeing no one still. "My name is Heatseeker and wandering around is normal for me. I do it so that I can think in peace. I'm sure you can imagine that peace and tranquility aren't commonly found amongst Decepticons." She snorts at the thought of everyone actually being silent and argumentative for once." I usually keep to abandoned battle fields but lately, I'm tired of the destruction I see." He doesn't respond, she but she continues anyway, "We're destroying our home one city at a time. If we continue, there won't be anything worth fighting for anymore. For either side. Just a dead hulk in space, populated with the ghosts of it's past." She doesn't know why she is sharing this with this complete stranger.The enemy none the less. If she killed him right now, no one would look twice, but having a conversation with him is playing with fate.

This simple conversation is treason enough in the eyes of her so-called comrades.

Mirage doesn't know what to think. Should he believe this Decepticon? Deception is in their nature but she could be telling the truth. She also seems to tired or injured, he isn't sure but she keeps rubbing her head and wincing. He takes a chance that she is telling the truth. "Ah, doubting your purpose I see. No wonder you needed to get away to think. Doubt amongst your kind isn't exactly a good thing." He sighs also sounding tired,"I'm tired of the war as well. I wish we could all get it over with and agree to whatever we need to to get back to leading normal lives. But only Primus only know's when that may happen." He notices that dark cast on her face seems to lighten a bit at hearing his words.

Her grimace clears a little and lowers her hands to her lap, "I'm glad I'm not alone. Ha. Well, I am amongst the Decepticons, I'm sure of it." She stares off to a nowhere neither near nor far, then stands up, rubbing the back of her neck and wincing again, "I have a weird question for you. Do you guys have any telepaths that make a sport of scrambling your logic circuits when the mood strikes them?"

"Um. No. Not that I'm aware," he gives her an odd look. She's right, that was a weird question. He doesn't ask her to elaborate, though.

"Consider yourself lucky." She lowers her hand and sighs," Look, Mirage, this conversation didn't happen. Normally, I wouldn't have let you lived longer than it took for me to see the insignia on your chest. I can't explain it, but this_ isn't _normal for me. I don't expect you to keep it to yourself, I am the enemy after all. But should it get back to..." she looks away and then down appearing sullen. She can feel the change in his demeanor.

He feels the weight of her words and doesn't doubt them but feels that there is more to her than what she has let out thus far. "I understand" he assures her.

She turns to the direction of his voice, "I must go now. Maybe we'll meet again someday." She doesn't hear his response, doesn't know where he went. She walks away and then transforms back to her jet mode to return to base.

All she thinks about during her flight back is the conversation with the Autobot. Why she even spoke to him, she is unsure, but she worries that even that was too much. She berates herself for talking to him, but what is done is done. She can't fix the past now. Her mind disagreed but her spark felt the need to talk to him. _Maybe the war is finally twisting my logic?_ Or maybe she is that tired of it all. She doesn't know, but the confusion is setting itself into her mind. What is her spark trying to tell her? She doesn't know but she understands that if ever she needed to keep her thoughts to herself, now is that time.


	5. It's not fun being the punchline

A/N: I **love** the Decepticons, _specially_ the Seekers. I know I made Skywarp out to be kind of an asshole in this chapter, but he's true to form with his practical jokes. :-)  
-----------------------------------------

She's back in that spot. That same spot she finds herself sitting in every time she goes down to the mess deck. She has her feet up on the window ledge, her head is resting on the back of the chair and her mind is wandering everywhere but where she is at the moment. Everyone is being noisy, as usual, but she doesn't care. This is one of the few times she's wants to hear the raucous. Right now, the distraction is actually helping her to think. Her head finally stopped pounding, so why she is sitting here in the noise, waiting for their antics to induce another headache is beyond her. She really came down here for some energon before she went to go practice some sword fighting but she wandered to her usual chair, plopped down in it and hasn't moved since.

She rolls her head to her left, reaches to pick up her cube of energon and sees that it's empty. She wants more but doesn't want to get up. For the first time in a long time, she's actually comfortable. She returns back to staring at the ceiling, attempting to muster up the will to go get more. After a breem, she finally manages to peel herself out of the chair. The cup isn't going to fill itself up, no matter how hard she wishes it would. She is still lost in thought as she walks over to get more to drink. The conversation with the Autobot is replaying itself in her mind. Why did she sit there and talk to him? She shakes her head in disgust at her own actions. Regardless of the doubts she's been having, she didn't need to share them. Specially with her enemy. Her mind wanders a bit more and she makes her way back to her chair, oblivious to the conversation going on between the two seekers sitting in their usual spot across the room from her.

Just about to reach her chair, she raises the cube to sip from it when she is rudely brought back to the present by a cackling Skywarp who just appeared in front of her. Startled, she jumps and stumbles backwards, spilling her energon before falling on her aft. He can barely contain his laughter and just about falls down from it all himself. Heatseeker glares up at him with pure virulence as she gets back up. The small crowd in the room laughs along with yet another one of Skywarp's jokes and she shoots glares at them all.

"Nice job you fragging fool." She growls at him. She looks down at the spilt energon on her chest plate and wipes it off with her hand. She takes a quick look at her hand ensuring there is enough on it and wipes it on Skywarp's chest plate. She stands back and crosses her arms, glaring hatefully at him.

"It never gets old." He is still laughing.

"It's _been_ old for a while, Skywarp." She pushes him aside and picks up her cup before turning back around to go refill it again. _This is _**exactly **_why I love being alone_. She rolls her optics as she drinks her refilled cup. This time she drinks it quickly knowing that Skywarp doesn't always strike once when he's in this mood. Well, now she has her motivation to go work out. She walks to the door making sure Skywarp stays planted in his seat, still laughing. Both he and Thundercracker are chuckling as she walks past them to leave. She scowls at both, this time turning to Thundercracker, and points at the smirking black and purple mech next to him, "Will you put a chain on him or something?" Thundercracker stifles his laughter, not responding to her and turns back to Skywarp.

She sort of wishes she was going to practice her technique on Skywarp and not a drone. His tricks never manage to entertain her, specially when she is the victim. She stays just a little bit more alert as she leaves the room, which is good because she doesn't even make it across the threshold of the door before he does it again. She doesn't jump, she smirks as she plants a swift kick in his side and pulls him towards her and down to the ground. She starts laughing and adds in a sing-song "Ha-ha." while smirking and standing over him.

"_That_ will never get old." She gives him a small bye-bye wave and a wink as she she steps past him, out of the room.

-------------------------------------

Heatseeker sets the level on the practice drones to a mid-high level. Just enough to be a challenge but not leave her too injured if she should make a wrong move. Being so lost in thought, she doesn't want to have to enlist the help of anyone else should she injure herself in a manner of which she can't fix on her own.

She thinks about everything, the war, the destruction, the past, Starscream and Megatron, meeting the Autobot, Skywarp's antics and Soundwave's ability to turn her mind inside out. Basically, she thinks of anything that'll piss her off enough to make her fight with a vengeance. It's working.

The first drone comes out and she begins her fight with one sword. She kneels on one knee. Her left hand is up and facing the drone in what could be misconstrued as a defensive position, but the sword in her right hand is aimed at it, ready for her to strike. The drone strikes, swooping it's own sword down in a rightward slash down at her, she rolls to the left dodging it and strikes it's leg. The drone stumbles forward before recovering and turning back to her. Now facing the drone she lowers her head as she rushes towards it, both swords meeting, sparks flying. She grins maliciously at the sight of the two swords, edge to edge, scraping against one another. They push off of each other and recover to strike again. The ballet that plays out between the two seems almost too perfect. The drone advances on her and she ducks to avoid it. It falls over her, tumbling towards the corner. It seems to take a little too long to recover and she frowns at it. She knows that in battle, her enemy will more than likely have gotten back up by this point. The second drone enters the fight, this one armed with gun that shoots small concussion blasts. The blasts won't injure but they'll stun enough for practice.

Now she is fighting the two drones, trying to fend of the one with the sword and hold off the other drone with the blast weaponry. She was taking it easy on the first, now she lets loose in a torrent of speed and skill. Traveling so fast around the drone she looks like a blur of red. Grunts of exertion and joy of chaos emanate from her blurry form. The sounds of metal scraping and grinding are heard as she disarms her opponent. The drone with the blast weaponry approaches her from the rear as she unsheathes her second sword. Now standing between the two, she looks from one to the other deciding who to strike next. She chooses the drone armed with the blast cannon and strikes at it's chest with her sword. The sword does not pierce the armor but a red light on the circular plate which she struck, lights up. The system voice from the overhead speaks up "Drone 2, fatal strike sustained, standing down weapons. She grins wickedly at defeating the drone and turns to continue fighting the first. Moving back towards the drone she sees it's weapon is back in it's hand, she stands back, beaconing it to approach her with a cocky smile. The drone moves forward carefully as they are programmed to respond as the enemy would in a real life battle environment.

She taunts the drone moving around it in a circle, waiting for it to strike. The drone strikes with a sweep up from left to right. She deflects the move with the sword in her right hand, leans over to her right and jabs the sword held in her left hand into the circular plate on the drones chest. Another red light blinks and the overhead voice states, "Drone 1, fatal strike sustained, standing down weapons." She sheathes both swords and gloats at yet another successful practice. The next time, she'll up the level to high. She won't always have superior skills over her foes.

She kneels down on the floor to clear her mind in a meditative state as she often does before and after each practice when she hears the door behind her open. She doesn't turn to it. She know he'd be pissed and come looking for her sooner or later. This was just a lot sooner than expected. She remains with her back to the door, "Can this wait? I'm about to do something."

"No. That kick was wrong." Skywarp answers bitterly from hind her. It's always like this. Everything is okay if he's the one playing the prank, but Primus have mercy if she retaliates.

She rolls her optics and stands up, she turns to face him. The two have never gotten along, she doesn't know why, but they just never have. "You asked for it." Annoyed, she glares at him. He's alone, as he usually is when he's in this kind of mood.

"It was a joke."

"It was the fourth one in the last 2 deca-cycles, Skywarp. I'm tired of it." She hates this. Everytime its the same thing. "Can't you find someone else to harrass?"

"Nah. You're reactions are always the funniest." He smirks at her.

Frag. He irritates her. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

It's so repetative and he's too predictable. Skywarp pulls one of his infamous tricks on her, she gets fed up and retaliates. The two of them end up duking it out to heal wounded egos. Just another day amongst the Decepticons. He's a sneak though and he uses the teleporting to his advantage. She uses her martial arts skills to hers. He punches, she ducks and throws. He's bigger than her but she uses his momentum against him.

He lunges at her and grabs her but she rolls back onto the floor and plants a food in his torso, flipping him over her. The both get back up and she ducks, knowing what he's about to do. He teleports in front of her and she sweeps her right leg around, tripping him. Skywarp falls down as she stands up to back away. He glares hatefully at her and she smiles menacingly at him. He gets up and tackles her, stunning her for a second as she falls down. The two roll around throwing punches before she manages to get up and move away from him. She leans over to cough from the punch he landed on the armor protecting her vocal circuits. She doesn't notice that he teleported behind her again until he does the one thing that will send any Seeker over the edge, he painfully grabs her wings and pulls her back down. She howls at the discomfort and kicks up at him widly trying to get away. She lands a kick in his knee. He stumbles back and she shuffles along the floor to put space between them. Both of them stand across the room from each other, glaring. Nothing but hate in their optics.

"Enough! That was fragged up!" Heatseeker is wincing at the irritated sensors on her wings.

"You wouldn't stop. What do you expect?" He shouts back at her.

"Well," She pauses searching for an answer, "Neither would you."

The black and purple mech shrugs at her, "No one said the fight had to be fair."

"Yeah, I think you proved that. How about each time you teleport, I pull out a knife?" She stand back up and checks for damage, then looks up at him in disgust, her wings vibrating in pain. "Get out of here, Skywarp."

"You're just upset because you lost." He shoots her a smug grin before adding, "again."

The red and black femme walks over to him, getting so close that she can almost feel the anger vibrating off of him. "This time, you aft. This time you won. Out!" She points towards the door. He backs up and turns to leave. She shakes her head again and follows him to the door, staring at his back as he walks towards it, imagining one of her knives protruding from it. Just as he gets to the door he turns to her and tells her, "Maybe next time I'll let you win." and winks at her before turning back around.

"Maybe next time I'll let you believe that's exactly what you did." She leans forward and viciously rakes the fingers of her right hand across the top of his wing. Her wings may be insanely sensitive in comparison to the mech's but she grins as he buckles from the painful sensation and groans at it. The ornery femme lets out a wicked laugh as she ducks back behind the closing door and hits the locking mechanism.

_Primus, I hate that guy. _

_--------------------------------------_

"What got into you today?" Starscream is staring at the giggling red femme seated on his recharge bed with an eye of suspicion.

"I pounded Skywarp's aft today." She quickly flutters her optic ridges at him and gives him a goofy grin.

"I take it you two had another one of your practical-joke-that-ran-afoul fights?" He was used to this by now. For some reason, she and Skywarp really loathed each other. It had been like that since the beginning. She calls it sick sidekick syndrome. Someone has to be the nut job in each pair. Thundercracker, as cranky as he eternally is, is the more stable of the two between he and Skywarp. She feels that she and Starscream were equally nuts, but the fact that he ranks so high means she is the sidekick. Her ego or programming dictates that she has to climb out of his shadow somehow. She figures he's the better of between the two of them. If that says much... She and Skywarp are the younger of the four so her theory is that they should be expected to be a little less mature. Often Skywarp's constantly joking personality clashes with her serious one, meaning they will beat each other into exhaustion over the stupidest of things. Usually, her being the victim of his many practical jokes is the culprit.

"So who one today's fight?" He looks down, studying something on a datapad in his hand.

Her sigh pretty much answers his question but she answers him anyway, "He did." Her voice sounds annoyed with the admittance.

"Did you let him win?" He's surprised. She'd lost quite a few of those fights against him lately.

"No, the bastard teleported behind me and grabbed me, very painfully mind you, by my wings and pulled down." Her silver face winces at the memory of the pain.

"That was dirty." He snickers. He'd been in a few scuffles with Heatseeker just playing around with her and he knew that her overly sensitive wings were a major weak point. If she doesn't mentally prepare herself for a strike there, she will go down like a toppling building.

"That's what I thought." She swings her feet back and forth and leans back on the bed. "So what's new with you? Any beat downs for you today?" She tries to fight a grin and the ornery flash in her optics.

"No. I actually kept my mouth shut." He adds dryly looking up from his data pad.

She sits up straight at hearing this bit of news, her optics wide in surprise, asking slowly, "What are you up to?"

He doesn't answer her, he only gives her that famous Starscream smirk. She starts laughing and waves both hands back and forth defensively, "Nevermind. I didn't ask. I don't want to know..." She lowers her hands and tilts her head to the side giving him an innocent look. He puts the data pad down on the table in front of his chair, walks over the bed and sits down next to her. He doesn't say anything.

Heatseeker looks at him expectantly. She's almost shocked at his lack of speaking. This is always a sign that he's up to something big. She doesn't want to break his train of thought, doing so may derail whatever scheme he's plotting. Even though he seems pretty calm right now, interrupting one of his plotting moments can be quite explosive. She remains silently by his side and her own mind starts to wander. She's lost in her own thoughts when he puts his hand over hers.

"You're alive! I thought you went into stasis." Her optics are smiling.

"Of course I am, " His dark gray face a visage of innocence. Oddly enough, considering there is nothing innocent about him.

She chuckles at him, "You and quiet are not usually found together. "

"Are you saying I talk a lot?"

She exaggerates rolling her optics, "Um... Thats exactly what I'm trying to say." She leans to her right, trying to duck his swat and laughing loudly."Don't hurt me! I can only take so much aft whopping for one mega-cycle." She pleads through her laughter. "So are you gonna tell me what you're up to or do I have to beat it out of you?"

He gives her that smirk again. She huffs at him, faking a glare and chucking lightly. _She's playful today, that's a good sign,_ he thinks to himself. _No brooding. Thank Primus_. The brooding can be contagious and bothersome.

"Okay, fine. Since you put it that way..." He gets up and walks over to the table where he had rested the data pad before. He picks the gray pad up and brings it back over to the bed. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Her face falls a little and she purses her lip components, before telling him, "Surprise me."

"Alright, the good news is we have new intel on Iacon and a lot of it at that. The bad news is it all has to be oragnized. We've also intercepted some of the Autobots transmissions but it seems they have a new form of encryption that we're going to have to break first. We can't do anything until we know what we have." She nods at him, her face looking a little more serious now. He continues, "More good news is I recommended you to work on the team breaking the code."

She scans his face carefully and sees that he's hiding something. She decides to find out what it is. "Screamer, there's something you aren't telling me. What is it?" She looks worried.

He inhales deeply through his intakes before answering her. "You'll be on the team with Soundwave."

Her face falls completely, "Slag. Good job. Baaaaaad coworker."

"It gets worse."

"That's possible?"

"Yes. You both will be working directly for Shockwave on this one."

"Auuuugh." She lays back on the bed and stares at the ceiling,"Anyone but_ him_." She whines in denial. "Slag. Soundwave _and_ Shockwave? Am I being punished?"

"No. I convinced Megatron that you can be trusted. You can. We need someone we can trust on this, Heat." He looks at her convincingly.

She hates that look. It's that ' I wouldn't do anything to cause you harm...' look that he's used one too many times on her. The look that makes her follow him and do exactly as he wishes, even with it's been a failed and painful attempt at something. _Well, It _**is**_ a decent job. _Granted, she'll be around the Decepticon Hierarchy, that means good face time. Maybe doing this job well, will finally win her some favor with Megatron, but she doubts it. Since when did her own kind become her enemy? Maybe it will take her mind off of her most recent thoughts and, well, meetings. It'll give her a chance to delve deeper into studying the Autobots. _Heh, it won't be that bad. But damned the luck. Soundwave and Shockwave. Why don't they just throw Skywarp in there and just call it my own personal pit._ She laughs at the thought. _Plus, I'm happy playing second string to the Seeker's starters. _

She sits back up and rests her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees. "Great, but there's more. You wouldn't be quiet over that." She eyes him suspiciously.

Starscream grins at her, "We'll be using this info to plan the attack on Iacon."

She doesn't let him finish his sentence, she's known him too long. She cuts him off. "Where you're planning to take care of..."

He nods and she gives him an evil little grin. She raises her legs up onto the bed and rests her chin on her left knee, still smiling. She turns her head towards him, "I'll let you get back to your planning then."

"I'll plan plenty later. We have time. We don't even know what the intel is yet."

She nods her head sideways as it's still resting on her knee. She enjoys these moments. She tries to block out the seeds of doubt in her mind that have been haunting her for deca-cycles. Specially the last mega-cycle or two. She just looks at him with an ornery but sheepish look on her face. He raises his hand and rubs her wing were Skywarp had pulled her earlier. Only this time, instead of intense pain, she feels a pleasant tingling. _It's funny, _she thinks,_ how much pain and pleasure are separated by a thin line._ She closes her optics and inhales softly with his touch. He doesn't stop and she doesn't ask him too. _It feels too darned good_, she chuckles to herself.

He stops rubbing that spot. She opens her optics and gives him a dejected look while pouting, "Why'd you stop?"

He grabs her hand, " Come on. I'm hungry." She groans in protest but follows him down to the mess deck.

_Wow, for once I won't be eating by myself. Sweet. _Are the thoughts that pass through her mind while walking down there. She guesses it wasn't that bad a day after all. Even if her thoughts are on hold until later.


	6. Slag and ow

**A/N**: Short chapter warning!!

I'm really trying to give as much shape to this character as possible. The odd part is that I have so many ideas and chapters written for her that will occur later on down the line that I've basically been giving life to her in reverse. All the OOCness with some of the characters will make sense in the not so distant future. So anyone who has a favorite, and may think "well, that's not the insert character name here I love" They will be. I promise. Oh, and chapters will get longer too.

On another note, please keep the reviews flowing. :-)

------------------------------

Another battle. This time they were getting their afts handed to them. _Oh, this is sooooo not going to go over well_, were Heatseeker's thoughts as she stood on the edge of an escarpment, watching the chaos unfold below her.

The Decepticons had launched the first strike, but it wasn't enough. The Autobots definitely came to this battle prepared. Shamefully, the same couldn't be said for the Decepticons this time. Instead of launching an aerial attack first, then following with a ground attack, they tried the opposite for the element of surprise. _Not the best idea...,_ Heatseeker shakes her head at the mess below. Getting the command to attack, the Seekers fly in like a storm. She decides to spend as much time as possible taking out the enemy from above before joining in a ground battle. She flies low and fast, firing on a line of Autobot soldiers when she realizes that she's the only one still flying and not fighting.

For some reason her heart isn't in it today but the preservation of her life is out weighing her conscious for the moment. Immediately upon landing she finds herself face to face with 3 smaller soldiers. Luckily, size is on her side in this fight, hopefully speed and skill are too. Instead of using her swords, Heatseeker decides to use her knives and bodily strength. Jabbing, slashing, kicking and throwing her way through them. She quickly lays waste to the smaller soldiers. It's almost too easy, but at least there is someone, somewhere who she is actually stronger than in physical combat, she stands over their fallen forms, laughing at this thought when a laser hits her in the back. She topples over, landing in a pool of spilt energon from one of her victims, before she has a chance to see who the culprit is. The startled femme tries to get up but feels a foot slam down on her back.

"Well, what do we have here? A seeker that is separated from the pack."

Oh she is mad now. "What the pit? Who shoots someone in the back? I mean come on?! Even _I_ don't do that." She now, officially, had her heart in the game as she growled at her attacker, "Show yourself you coward."

"Get up!" was the gruff response.

"Get off and I will."she answers indignantly.

The foot lifts off of her back and she feels a hand grab her wings and pull her up. An unfortunately familiar pain tears through her as he yanks hard. Now standing up, she turns to face the bastard who shot her, all the while unsheathing her knives.

"Put 'em back or I'll waste you right now." She was face to face with Ironhide of the Autobots and one of his infamous cannons.

_Pit. He's even more trigger happy than I am_ and_ I just called him a coward. I am officially slagged_. She sheathes the knives, reluctantly. Ironhide's reputation precedes him and still having the preservation of her life as a priority for the day, she isn't about to test it. Well, not unless she really has to. She glares at him defiantly. "So kill me then. You have me here. Finish it." She may not be willing to challenge him physically, but she'll challenge him verbally. She smirks at him as the finishing touch to her comment.

He grabs her by the throat, obviously about to grant her request. _Primus, this son of a glitch is strong_. Straining from his grip she looks around for something resembling a way out when she spots one. Mirage is approaching Ironhide from the rear.

It's either the expression on her face of surprise or recognition of something behind him that made Ironhide look. Clenching the femme just a little tighter so that she doesn't try anything, he turns in the direction of her gaze, seeing Mirage. He sees the same look mirrored on Mirage's face. He shifts his attention back to Heatseeker, still in his grip and not fighting back, giving her a very quizzical look. The large red mech turns around to face Mirage, still holding Heatseeker by the throat. He opens his mouth to speak but doesn't get the chance to as something very loud and very fast, flies no more than a hand's length too close to them all.

Knowing a good chance when it presents itself, Heatseeker uses this distraction to wrestle free of him. She quickly raises her hands and grabs his arm. In one swift motion she wrenches his arm away from her and pushes him to the ground as she steps back. The red and black femme transforms and takes off in the direction the jet that just saved her hide while narrowly dodging fire from Ironhide's cannon. She accelerates after the jeit, seeing the familiar colors of Starscream, approaching Skywarp and Thundercracker, she can't remember the last time she was so thankful to lay eyes on all three of them. She exhales in relief, calming down from her close encounter. She thinks about what just transpired down below. _Slag that was a close one. Would he have finished me for real? Do they even take hostages? Note to self, thank Starscream profusely for teaching me when it's time to bail out and just plain run for it. Oh, and for saving my tail._

_--------------------------------------------------------- _

"You're really not having a good run of luck lately are you?"

"Lay off. I don't think I can take anymore this deca-cycle." She chuckles slightly. Trying to patch herself up, she looks like a contortionist. Giving him a pleading look and appearing defeated, she puts the tools down. "Okay, show time is over. Please help me."

Starscream walks over to her, picks up her tools and looks at her back. "I'm only doing this out of shock you know. You asked for help. The last time you did that..." He pauses to think," I can't even remember when that was." He starts to work on patching up the spot where Ironhide decided to redecorate her paint. "That's going to leave a scar." He finishes up and runs his hand over the mark. "It won't be too bad. It's small," He hands the tools back. "You'll live."

She takes them from him, slightly embarrassed about having to ask for his assistance, she mutters a small. "Thanks."

"No problem but don't get used to it. Better yet, try not to get shot in places you can't reach." He laughs, lightening the mood a bit.

"Aft." She raises an optic ridge at him," Are you laughing at my pain or my embarrassment?"

" A little bit of both I suppose."

She smiles but shakes her head. "You know, this," she motions in a back and forth motion between the two of them. "What just happened between us. Reminds me of the old times. Before all of, well, this," she looks up at the ceiling and brings her hands up in a manner to mean the whole around them."When we used to be able to laugh at stuff and roll with the punches. It's a shame that so much has changed." She looks down at her hands holding the tools in her lap then back over to him, a faint sadness in her optics. "You have an empire to help run, Megatron to answer to, deal with, tolerate, and sur**_vive_**... We both have a war to fight and I have become a part time crew punch line, punching bag and aspiring hermit. So this little moment, even if it did bruise my ego, was nice. Thank you. Oh, and thanks for makin' me purdy ag'in."

For the first time in a very long time, Starscream looked lost for words. He walks around to where she is sitting, thinking about what she had just said. He realizes it has been a long time. They had both changed and would continue to do so. He's still the only one she would, _could_, go to for anything. He's probably the only one who trusted her. He knew that he was the_ only _Decepticon in the whole empire that she trusted. He knew her well and she knew him better than anyone else possibly could. They were it. He had so called friends. She didn't, he was it. All that understanding, and he still didn't know what to say. He reaches for her face, holding it in his hands and says, "Your welcome." He then wraps his arms around her in a hug, leaving her pleasantly surprised and telling her, "Anytime you get shot in the back, I've got you covered."

She laughs at that, smiling, she gives him a playful shove. "Get out of here before I get all femme on you."

He puts on the act of being dejected and leaves with a fake pout.

She sits on the table for a while just thinking about the two of them through the years. Regardless of what most of the crew saw, he still has some of his "old"self in him. He hadn't entirely lost his sense of humor or all of his compassion, yet. He rarely annoyed her as he did everyone else on a regular basis and she was lucky to not have to deal with his fits. She usually disappeared when the warning signs for one appeared. A small amount of that compassion and humor are still in him but Heatseeker knows that with time, his position and what it requires, that compassion and humor will more than likely fade. She frowns, thinking about the feelings in her spark and her feelings of doubt about the empire. When the time came to leave, should she choose too, would she be able to do it knowing the costs?

That night, she does something else she hasn't done in many vorns. She prays.

-----------

**One more A/N before bed**: I have read so many fantastic stories on here but a few in particular have stood out. So many of you are incredibly talented. I could only wish to write as well as you. Anyway, I wanted to recommend some of my favorite writers. RedRequiem, who's interpretation of Soundwave just blew my mind. She changed how I viewed him and I drew some inspiration from that for this story. And KayDeeBlu, I've become addicted to her stories. Her vision of Bluestreak and Thundercracker have me checking my alerts every morning. I like her stories so much, I had to rewrite Thundercracker's part in this story because I just couldn't portray him the way I originally had planned. Thanks to both of you for keeping me entertained. There are so many others who I haven't mentioned but I will in one of my later chapters.

Thanks again, now go read their stuff!


	7. Oh just out for a walk

A/N: I just got back from Kuwait last night (9/21) close to midnight. Whoo ho! I'd been there since January and I left for good on Friday. I worked on most of this story during the last few weeks of my time there. I hope you like it. I did this chapter while dead tired. I was falling asleep editing! Hopefull it gets better now that I have more time.

--------------------------------

Heatseeker is trying her hardest to pay attention. Her aft counts on it. But, considering the company, that's easier said than done. Not too many things can put the fear in her, but the present company has the ability do just that. The mission seems easy enough, but looking at who she'd be working for and with, she's starting to feel sick. She knows she'll have to be more than on top of her game if she wants to get out of this unscarred either mentally or physically.

_Why?_ Echoes through her mind like a cry for mercy. _Why me?_ She knows the answer, she just doesn't want to accept the truth. Starscream notices the fact that her face appears to be draining of color, if that is possible. He knows very well how she views Megatron, Shockwave and Soundwave. He gives her a look that undeniably says "Pull yourself together!" She tries her hardest to do exactly that. When she realizes that Soundwave is staring at her with that look she hates, that one that says he's trying his best to figure out what she is thinking. She ignores him and attempts to appear to be hanging on every last one of Megatron's words. She wonders if her face shows how much she feels as if she is failing at doing so.

"They have a new form of communication that is encrypted in a matter of which our current crypto programs are not able to translate. I'm leaving it up to you two to break the code, add it to the system and translate what it says. It's a given that Soundwave would be tasked with this, but considering how time consuming this is and the amount of info involved is going to be, you, " and his lip components curl up as he glances in her direction, " will assist him. Do as he says, no debate, Heatseeker. You know the consequences."

She nods respectfully, or so it appears, "Yes, Lord Megatron."

"You were chosen because of your known silence and lack of... socializing. I expect things to stay that way. The only individuals who will know of these transmissions are those in this room right now. You will answer directly to Shockwave for this mission. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my Lord." Primus, she feels like she's a sparkling being scolded for something she hasn't even done yet.

The most unnerving presence in the room, even more so than Megatron at the moment, is Shockwave. Everything about him is menacing looking, right down to that one eye in the middle of what is supposed to be his face. His haunting voice makes her circuits jump. The walking computer, as he is called, fits the bill quite well. It is well known that logic dictates all in Shockwave's world. If it isn't logical, it must be eliminated and he doesn't hesitate to take action once that decision is made. In this specific circumstance, Soundwave definitely is the most logical choice. As Megatron already stated, she is as well but her involvement is hanging by a thin string of energon, she is sure. The mission can continue without her, should she be calculated as a risk by him. She is getting the "look" from Starscream again, which must mean her normally metallic grey face is turning a flat grey. _Soundwave must be enjoying every second of my discomfort. Megatron probably thinks I'm fighting off some femme emotional breakdown, Starscream looks like he is silently wanting to strangle me and well, Shockwave , more than likely, is working out how long it's going to be until I am un-necessary. Oh the luck! _

"Shockwave, get started."

"As you command, Lord Megatron," the droning voice of Shockwave's makes all the fluids in her system run cold.

Megatron departs with Starscream in tow. Starscream turns and gives her the, "Don't make me strangle you." look for sure this time. Heatseeker wonders what he has up his sleeve. He was quiet the entire time, again, which is odd and he kept giving her the wierd looks which is equally as odd. She'll have to get it out of him later. Right now, she feels like she just arrived in Pit. She's stuck in a room with the brain scrambler and the laser shooting calculator._ Life is good. Hahahahaha_. She's too nervous to do anything but listen to Shockwave's direction. Plus, right now, her aft is counting on it.

She sits down, not in her usual position across the room but at the console adjacent Soundwave. She's sure he can tell what her emotional state is right now. She may be able to block him from reading her thoughts, but emotional levels are a different story. You can't block a telepath from reading those. Just like facial expressions, they too are obvious to someone who is well trained in how to read them. She doesn't hide behind her fear by trying to fake her state. She admits it when she speaks to him telepathically. _"Soundwave?" _

_"Yes?"_

_"You aren't planning on scrambling my circuits anytime soon are you?" _

_"Not unless you give me a reason too."_

_"Good. Just checking."_

_"Why?"_

_"I just have a feeling I may need every last one I have." _She turns her attention to Shockwave long enough for Soundwave to follow her line of sight but not to look suspicious to the large purple mech.

Soundwave laughs telepathically in response to her last comment. He reads her emotional state, he is surprised to actually get a slight sense of fear off of her. So she fears Shockwave...okay. He'll have to remember that._ "Then don't give me a reason too and you'll be fine."_

--------------------------------

She was surviving her time working with Shockwave and Soundwave. Soundwave didn't try to read her thoughts, at all. She was pleasantly pleased by that, even if it was a bit shocking and border line disturbing. Shockwave hadn't decided to eliminate her from the equation, so she was elated about that. They had managed to break the Autobots new code almost as soon as they were tasked with doing so, much to Megatron's pleasure.Starscream was safe from Megatron's wrath for the time meaning, she didn't have to deal with any drama from him. . So far so good.

The info they were collecting told of everything from the Autobots base of operations, to cells in various city states. The Decepticons learned of movements and placements of Autobot weaponry. Perfect, the Decepticons now had the element of surprise. The Autobots did not know that they had already broken the code or so the Decepticons thought.

The offensive was planned. The Autobots wouldn't expect them. In the meantime, surveillance was needed of the area. She lucked out being placed on one of 3 scouting teams. After a deca-cycle of spending most of her waking moments in the same room as Shockwave and Soundwave, she was elated to have a chance to escape the confines of the base. The teams would scout out the area for cells and strategic locations, only engaging the enemy if they were spotted. She was teamed up with Sunstorm the loudest colored seeker in the group being as he was bright orange. _Great,_ she thought, _I'm with the great big walking target. So much for being inconspicuous. _

They waited for the city's shields to be lowered to enter following a cargo crafts approach. Timing their landing with that of a large ship, their landing just outside of the city's perimeter went un-noticed. Heatseeker tells Sunstorm she wants to touch down away from their suspected target so that the sound of their engines won't raise alarm. She used codes gained from the message they had intercepted to gain access to a perimeter gateway. He used his long range weaponry to render the guards at the gate neutralized. Sunstorm agreed to her stealthy landing and entry, the do so and walk prudently to the area they are to search, staying below the surface, in the alleys, crevices at the base of Iacon's buildings and grand structures. This is a dark and foreboding place, providing excellent cover for them. The light is low but still useful in the allies, Sunstorm insists on taking the lead and she lets him._ Let him be the shield_, she thinks to herself. She can still see over him when he's crouched low. The two brightly colored Seekers travel down through winding alleys when they come to an archway marking what she knows to be the entrance to a cell. The entrance is at the mouth of what appears to be another maze of dark alleys. They continue on. A while into the maze of allies, Sunstrom peaks his head around a corner to check for any enemies when a first shot rings out. Luckily, the shot is high and hits a pipe along the wall well above their heads.

"What direction did that come from?!" She whispers hoarsely to Sunstorm placing her hand on his back pushing him down out of range of another round, should it come. .

"I didn't see." He moves his head from side to side checking the ends of the passageway.

" Good job, dip stick. How the pit are we supposed to shoot back if we don't know where to shoot at?' She hisses at the orange seeker.

"Well, you didn't see it either!" He cries back in surprise at her response.

"Good point. Put your head out there again and see if they shoot." and he does. She snickers but no one shoots. He rounds the corner to his left , staying close to the wall, still no more shots ring out. He scuttles down a bit to allow her room. She moves into position behind him again and they continued to follow the wall as it curves to the right. Still, there is silence, no shooting. _How odd_, she thinks. _Whoever had shot at us before must've ran off_. It is almost completely dark in this area. She switches optic modes for a better view. What she sees alarms her. In the dark that surrounds them, there are 5 Autobots who all appear to be well armed. _Where did they come from? _She hadn't thought or felt a need to send out psychic feelers so she hadn't done so. Two are in front of them, one is on the other side and slightly ahead of them in the tunnel and two behind them. As she and Sunstorm rounded the corner further back, she had checkd and saw no one behind them.

"Um, Sunstorm?"

"Yeah?"

"I have bad news." Her voice sounds amused but cautious.

"We're not alone are we?" His voice sounds regretful and expectant.

She can't explain it but she starts laughing, "No!" Her laughter trails off in an echo into the darkness.

Silence.

After a long pause, he answers up, "How many?"

"Enough to make this a worthy challenge."

The astrosecond of silence seems like forever. She draws out one of her knives.

She rushes at the closest one to her, one of the bots standing right behind her and to the right. He is prepared for her attack and raises his weapon to fire, but she ducks. The shot hits Sunstorm, knocking him into one of the autobots in front of him. Sunstorm draws his weapon and starts firing at the bots he had just been knocked into, almost as if he oblivious to having been hit. It's going to be a close quarters fight, her favorite kind. She slashes at the bot she had just rushed as he punches her in the chest causing her to stumble back. Angered from the punch she jabs a knife in his arm. Hearing his wail, she scrambles up just in time to see the second bot coming at her. Pulling a second and larger knife out of her chest plate, she clutches it in her right hand and punches the autobot in the face. He stumbles back but catches his balance. She sees the glow of an energy spike eminating from his left arm. _Oh you wanna play that game huh_? She cooly sheathes her knife and pulles out her swords. She spins the two swords in her hands and runs at him. The two are entrenched in a fight that resembles a glowing, dancing mess of lights. She spins to hit him twice when he hits her hard in her side with the spike. She stumbles back from the strike, looking down to check her wound, she growls upon seeing the energon start to seep. She raises her head and sees him beckoning her to come, taunting her. Just as she moves to take him, she is pulled back by someone behind her. Whoever it is, is holding a laser gun up to her neck and is not being forgiving about it.

"Drop them. NOW!! Drop the swords."

She defies the command and precedes to try and wriggle free. The bot holding her swings around fast and pulls on her neck so hard she feels her head might pop off. She sees Sunstorm on the ground, face down. She can't tell if he was offline or just unconscious. Either way it's not looking good for them right now. Five Autobots, one of her, one comrade down, she was injured. _Slag_. She drops the swords and raised her hands up in defeat.

"There, dropped." she says in the most defiant voice she can muster at the moment. The pain in her side is starting to build.

"Good girl."

Angry and with a racing pum,p her processors are searching for options to escape when she feels a odd pressure and a sudden pain in her side. The world seems to spin and is then followed by darkness. She hears nothing, sees nothing and was floating in absolute nothingness. One thought drifts through her mind, _Slag...I think I've "passed out." _

Things are_ definitely_ not looking good.


	8. Honesty or Deception

**A/N**: I had a really hard time writing this chapter. To be honesty with you, it's not my favorite in the story but I it has a purpose. Don't loose faith in Heatseeker though, this chick has a lot of oomph in her but she's at a crossroads and her choices are anything but easy for her.

I've been steadily working on the stories that take place after this. They will be more in depth and if you like the dark nature of this story, there will be much more to come. Oh and a little comedy. Heatseeker really works on honing her smart aft skills with time.

-----------------

Ratchet looks at the femme seeker laying prone on the table with concern. He had just completed a scan on her that revealed internal leaking that could possibly turn fatal if not attended to promptly. There were cut wires and damaged circuitry in the wound created by Wingnut's spike. He walks to the table she is on and lays out what tools he'll need, then runs the scanner over her frame one more time. She doesn't make a sound. Doesn't even twitch. He didn't know she had reactivated until she grabbed his wrist.

She looks directly at him, her optics dimly glowing and dull looking. The weakened femme grabs his hand and whispers, "Don't."

He watches her in slight surprise and moves his hand out of her grip, waiting for her to say something else but she doesn't. She lowers her left hand and moves it down her side, feeling the source of her pain. There is a clean and deep hole in her left side just below her chest plate. A well placed wound in a small but unprotected area. She sighs as she comprehends the wound and what may come of it if not treated soon. The red and black femme tries to prop herself up to look at the wound but he puts a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back down onto the table.

"You're leaking badly. If I don't stop it, you could go offline." Fatherly concern crossing his face plates, finding such an odd act, she watches him carefully yet curiously.

The Decepticons do not have a dedicated medic. Hook and his painful bedside manner, is the closest thing they have. Most of them have learned how to take care of their own wounds or enlist the help of another. Her internal systems scan reveals the extent of her injuries. She knows that she is incapable of fixing this particular wound on her own, even getting another Con's help would be tricky considering how many vital lines are in that area. She doesn't trust them enough to help her. Starscream is her only hope other than begging Hook. Begging him would mean apologizing profusely and agreeing that he was right after an argument they had a few deca-cycles earlier. As well as apologizing for throwing a knife at Scrapper after he joined in on the argument. She ponders that thought for a second, _nope my only hope is Starscream. Primus, this fragging stinks. Augh_. She really needs to work on her networking skills. Fixing it on her own with his help, can be done but she's on borrowed time.

Optics flickering, her face shows no emotion, no pain, she thinks of the CMO's warning that she could go offline as she whispers, "I'd almost prefer that." The injured femme rests her head back down on the table.

He stares at her curiously as , "Why would you want to do that? The way you fought earlier says quite the opposite." He adjusts a clip on one a leaking fluid line in the wound.

She snorts, now staring at the ceiling abover her, "Oh, I have my reasons _and_ my fears. Just none of them wear an Autobot insignia." She props herself up on her elbows and looks down. She is a mess of energon stains, plus one curious scorch mark on her thigh. She snorts a small painful laugh. "Looks like I've had better days."

"Yes, because you have a gaping hole in your side that needs to be fixed." He hates patients that won't listen. "I'll fix it."

"No. Where is Sunstorm?" She asks accusingly, she narrows her optics at the medic. "I saw him laying there..."

"He got away. Almost as soon as you blacked out, he got up and started firing, trying to escape. One of his shots hit you there." He points to the scorch mark just below her left hip.

She shakes her head and rolls her optics. _Fragging 'cons..._"That figures. So much like them. So typical. Take off to save your own hide and manage to shoot your wing mate in the process. Primus, I'm getting so tired of this fragging pit." She lays back down on the table and starts laughing quietly.

Ratchet watches the peculiar con with an eye of suspicion. She is a contradiction of the normal Decepticon. She's calm and collected. Her appearance is as normal as the other Seekers. She's slightly smaller than most of them with a red body and silver face, red wings, black accents and a black helmet. Her face is very feminine but there's something all too familiar about her that he can't place.

She props herself up again and swings her left leg over the table. Her back turned to him she tries to stand but immediately collapses. He walks around the table to find her sitting on the floor laughing quietly. The look on her face says it all, defeat. Not defeated by her enemy but defeated by her body. She looks at him, slight smirk on her face, " Slag. I'm a total mess. Don't just stand there! Help me up."

He stands back, narrowing his optics at her, "You won't let me fix you. You're injured and weak. Where do you plan on going? The hallway?"

"I can't let you fix me. Sorry, bud. Thanks, but I gotta go." defiance paints her face in a lively smirk considering her weakened state.

The audacity, "You're not going anywhere. You won't get far." _Slag, she is stubborn_.

"What? Are you going to try and keep me here? How? Last time I checked keeping prisoners of war is_ our_ thing, not yours." She challenges him with glaring optics. "I don't think you're going to keep me here against my will for too long. Will you? Trust me, mech. I can make your life a living pit." The defiant smirk crossing rising on her lip components again. "Don't fix me. I don't want it. It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, but I'd rather risk going back half alive than having to explain how I got fixed." The smirk changes into a grimace on the femme's silver face. "I can just see it now, fixed by the Autobot's medical officer..." She snorts, "I'd end up getting another brain scramble courtesy of Soundwave for sure. Sorry, not worth it, Doc. That pain out weighs this pain, three fold."

This slagging, pile of junk... Femme or not was really working his last sensor. He's about to give her a sedative when she suddenly doubles over in pain and gasps, clutching her side. Energon starts to seep down her side again. He does help her up, back onto the table. "Let me at least stop the leaking."

Grabbing his arm in a grip so tight he thought she may dent his armor, she nods and gasps."Okay, I give up. Just the leaking." She grimaces and makes a whining noise before blacking out again.

-----------------------------------

"Well, she's spirited to say the least. Stubborn but she doesn't seem to be much of a threat. She didn't really say anything to make me believe she would be other wise either. Although, she did mention that she could make our lives a living pit just for keeping her here, but I think that was more a statement reflecting her personality rather than her abilities," The CMO pauses and smiles at Sentinel Prime, "Then again, maybe her injury i_s_ slowing her down." Ratchet glances over to the Seeker lying on the table.

Sentinel rubs his chin as he follows the medic's gaze," Mirage said he felt that there was something different about her. Like she was holding back something but what she did say was vague at the most."

"Well, she did mention that she'd almost prefer to go offline then be saved and that her fears don't wear an Autobot insignia." Ratchet ran the scanner over her again. She was stable. Still injured and not fixed but at least she had stopped leaking energon. He hated leaving someone in this state but the femme had made her point clear.

"Lets see what she says when she wakes and is thinking a bit clearer. Do we know _anything_ about her?"

"Absolutely nothing other than what we know from her conversation with Mirage a few decacycles ago. Ironhide said that there was a moment of recognition between the two during that battle outside of Dylax . Overall, I'd say everything about her is pretty vague. Maybe Mirage should be the one to talk to her first? We could record it too if it is done in here." Ratchet was growing more and more curious about the femme.

"I think that would be best. Call for Mirage, when she wakes, have him talk to her. We'll, see what we can find out."

Ratchet nods as Prime leaves the Med Bay. He calls for Mirage who wastes no time arriving.

----------------------

Heatseeker opens her optics and sees the bronze ceiling again. The sharp, excruciating pain she felt before has now been replaced by a dull pain that is tolerable. Her head swims a little. _The medic must have given me something for the pain, heh_. She glances around the room, as she turns to her head to the right she sees that Mirage is standing by the CMO's desk and watching her. "Well, hello, Mirage. Fancy meeting you here."

"Hello, Heatseeker. You don't look too good." He walks up to the edge of the table.

"I feel good though. Must be whatever your medic gave me for the pain. He stopped the leaking but I wouldn't let him fix me." Her smirk is a little half hearted and the glazed look in her optics causes her to appear a little off kilter as compared to the last time he saw her at Dylax.

"Well, fixing is his job." Mirage does not smile back, instead he studies her for a moment before speaking again," So, Heatseeker, what were you doing here and how did you find us?"

"Scouting you." She is no longer smirking, a serious and dark look on her face. "scouting your positions. I shouldn't tell you anything. Normally, if I did, I'd be sure to dispose of you immediately." Her small laughter is almost inaudible. "But you already know that. For some reason, now I don't see the point."

He looks at her carefully, wondering if whether or not she is tricking him. They had only met once and he does not know her, but that conversation they had a few deca-cylces ago seemed genuine enough. _She _is a _Decepticon_, he reminds himself. Regardless of what she says, trickery is their M.O. "Why should I believe you? We may have talked before, but we are not friends. You are still my enemy." Her face drops a bit at response to his words and he continues. "You're just an unusually calm one."

She, closes her optic covers and inhales through her intakes, "I'm tired, Mirage." She thinks about the last 2 million meta-cycles of her life. The constant slag she gets, the lack of respect that they have for one another. How they can all barely stop arguing with one another long enough to come to a joint agreement on anything that Megatron doesn't tell them they have to do. She thinks of Megatron and how he seems to hate every last one of his followers, his lack of respect for them and how he constantly berates them. Even his most trusted officers. Anger wells up in her spark and her mouth twists into a grimace full of hate,"Because I want out."

Mirage pulls up a chair and sits down, he rubs his forehead, "Out?"

"Yes, out. As in I want this," she points to the purple insignia on her chest, "to be replaced or removed."

He gives her a questioning stare. Now he really questions himself as to whether or not she is telling the truth. Even as direct as she's being, she seems to be holding back, again. "There's more isn't there?"

"Yes." She sits up and faces him, her optics full of what seems to be a glimmer of hope peppered with fear. "I want out. I just don't know how. I know I have to do it on my own. It won't be easy though. I know things that are valuable to the empire."

"If you want out then why do you fight?" He stops slouching in his curious as to where this conversation is headed.

"I admit, in the beginning, it was fun. I did it for the rush, the thrill of the kill. I felt I had purpose." She raises her hands in front of her, palms up and stares down at them with guilt. "Mirage, it's all I know. I was so young when I became part of this war. I can't say I was taught or even conditioned, but Autobots were my enemy. Why? Because they didn't believe the same as my peers and I. But, with time, I've searched for more." She points to her chest with both hands," I searched inside and outside. Somewhere down the line, I learned of Honor and that I seemed to have none. I wanted it. I wanted to be able to say that I fought with it. That my fight had a meaning, a purpose. The purpose it has now, I'm unsure of. I do know that it's going to destroy us all. Decepticon and Autobot alike." The red femme looks down at her hands and thinks off all that they have done. How many lives they have taken. Lives that had fought on the side of honor. She frowned at her own actions. When she looked up at Mirage, a pleading expression almost seemed to leap out from her face." I fight you because I'd rather die of a strike from an Autobot than a Decepticon. To die at the hands of one of you would be an honorable death. Your side has purpose. To die at the hands of one of my own would be, well, just another game or a name on a list... an example."

He stares at her in disbelief at what he is hearing. "How do you figure?"

She's calm now and has a thoughtful expression on her face. "You Autobots fight for the preservation of our race, our planet and any other's we may contact. We Decepticons lost sight of our purpose ages ago and now seem to fight only for destruction and the greed of a power hungry tyrant. My fight is one of a warrior wanting, at least, honor in death since my life is lacking it. If it is one of you who die, _you_ have had one as you have died defending a great purpose. If it is I who die, then there is one last Decepticon holding you back from attaining that goal of peace. The mech that strikes me dead would have fought hard and is an honorable warrior. I respect you all to the point that it is getting harder for me to do my job."

Mirage is stunned speechless. This is the last thing he ever expected to hear from a Decepticon.

"Mirage, I'm sure you think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. I would almost have to be..." Her voice trails off as she changes the subject. The medicine or what ever the medical officer gave her seems to have made her a true motor mouth by relaxing her a bit. "Iacon is not safe. They are planning to strike and it whatever it is the Megatron has planned, I can guarantee it will be big. The effect will be devestating. Do what you must to defend it but they are coming. I don't know when but it will happen and I'd have to say soon." Her gaze seems to be boring into his spark and her hands are balled up into fists in her lap.

" Will that be their next strike or...?"

"I don't know for sure. You don't have to trust me, but please believe me." Heatseeker begs him as she allows her mind to travel over the memory of how grand the planet had been before the war. "This is the home of everything that we are. _Our _history is here, we can**not **loose it." The look on her face was so intense he can almost feel the emotion driving her words in his spark. "If it goes, what will become of us?"

Mirage contemplates all he had been told as he sits still on the stool. He knows they are recording the conversation and wonders what Prime's take would be on what she had said. All he says is,"Okay." and nods at her as he gets up from his seat and heads for the door. The sound of her voice stops him as he reaches the threshold.

"I've told you all I can. I can't stay. The longer I do, the worse it'll be. I'm not asking for pity. I'm only asking for a chance to figure out my exit strategy."

He doesn't turn. She adds one last thing to what she said before he steps out of the room completely. "Mirage, I'm not asking for asylum either. I'm not even sure if I'm asking anything. All I can say, is that I'm sorry. When they find out about my true feelings, I'm deader than Tarn. If we don't meet again, I pray that you Autobots win this war and save us all."

Heatseeker remains on the table as she watches Mirage walk out of the room. She has spoken from her heart and hopes that they believed her. All she can do now is wait and hope they can provide her with something the Decepticon's won't when they find out about her intentions and that is to have mercy. She looks up at the camera in the corner, her face serious but serene as she says, "I mean it all."

-------------------------------


	9. Fading

A/N: Heatseeker is nuts about Starscream. He can drive _her_ nuts from time to time but she just digs him. Whether or not its because of her core programming or if it has evolved with time, she isn't sure but I think she's the only one on Cybertron who can tolerate him longer than a cycle without wanting to end his existence. That's an odd position to be in if ya ask me. It takes one hell of a being to pull that off. ;-)

----------------------

The Autobots had let her go and it amazed her. Why woud they do that? If the Decepticons had captured one of them, they'd end up in one of the penal colonies. Not the best place to end up. A place like Styx was a worse punishment than death. The simple act of letting her go made her very happy.

She wouldn't allow Ratchet to fix her and instead begged him for a piece of scrap metal to clamp on her lines to stop the leak instead of the shunt he had originally placed on there. He didn't like it but she felt that a piece of bent scrap metal was a more believable field dressing than an actual shunt.

She managed to survive, still leaking energon on her flight back to the base. When she made it to the base she barely had enough energy to make it inside. No one came to help her until she made it half way to her recharge quarters. Ironically enough it was Soundwave who helped her get there. Upon reaching her quarters, he left to get Starscream knowing that the air commander was the only mech she'd let near her in her current condition.

She didn't remember saying much other than arguing with Starscream about fixing herself as she was determined to do it on her own even if she could barely hold a tool in her hand. The pain was unbearable and all she wanted to do was recharge. He convinced her that recharging was the last thing she needed to do since she had leaked too many fluids. Finally, she just blacked out upon seeing Hook, the closest thing they had to a medic. Hook came complete with an infamously rough bedside manner and his style of repair often left his patient in as much pain, if not more, then they had felt before he went to work on them. She didn't climb out of her somewhat comatose state for a few cycles. When she did, she was pleasantly surprised to find Starscream sitting there.

"Okay, I know you did not sit here this whole time unless you've had some serious plotting to do." She manages a weak smile through her pain.

"This is a nice place to sit and think." He lets out a small but wicked laugh.

"Tell me about it. And you wonder why I spend so much time in here." She adds a small pained chuckle but clutches at her side upon doing so. "So, what is so important that you've sat here thinking non stop with my broken aft probably whimpering in it's injured state?"

"I was thinking of a way to get rid of Shockwave. He's such a selfless hound of Megatron's. It annoys me to no end. Anything Megatron asks, he does. It's pitiful. But no, I did not sit here the whole time."

"Oooooh, Sounds like a bit of competition?" She raises an optic ridge at him. A sly smirk forming on her lip components. "If so, sounds like fun. Can I be in on it?" Things were looking a little better.

"Naturally." He smiles at her request.

"Good. Although, I have a score to settle with Sunstorm first." Her smile fades from jovial to mischevious.

"Ah revenge, one of _my _favorite pastimes." his pride is evident in the smirk that radiates from him. _So typical..._

"I know, thanks by the way. It's nearly paralyzing at times." She adds with a giggle as she refers to her core programming.

"Well then, I won't hold you up." He gets up from his seat and places an hand on her arm before turning around,"Don't get too destructive. I wanted to make sure you'd get back to normal and it looks like you have." He walks to the door but her voice stops him mid stride.

"Screamer, stop. Come here, puh-leeeez." She begs from her weakened state on the recharge bed. He can almost hear the smile in her voice.

He walks over to her recharge bed and tries to feign irritation but not well. She closes her optics. "I've had plenty of time to think in and out of consciousness the last few cycles and maybe facing the possibility of going permanently offline made me think clearly. So I wanted to just say thank you. You've changed a lot with time but the old you is still in there and I've needed _you_, not the mech you've become." _Slag_, she hopes she isn't wandering into dangerous territory with this. "Not the mech that everyone else sees when they look at you. So thank you. I guess...for still being... you." She suddenly feels like an idiot for babbling on about that. _Oh, pit, how's he going to react?_ She hadn't opened her optics yet. She was almost too scared too.

She felt his hand on the spot where she'd been wounded. The scar was sensitive and his touch sent a ripple of electricity through her circuits. She was sure he noticed. _Primus_, There were things she wanted to do but just couldn't fathom anymore. Too much had changed. She opened her optics and saw the way he was looking at her as he touched her face, causing her pump to speed up and her spark to jump. She took a moment to read him and then realized that maybe things hadn't changed _that_ much.

She smiled lazily at him as she closed her optics and lost herself in his touch as he continued. She then faded away with him and into ecstacy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Fade into you by Mazzy Star was the inspiration for the last part of this chapter. I had itunes on shuffle and had hit a wall when it came on. It just seemed to fit the mood that I was going for with a moment that Starcream and Heatseeker really need to share before the story could move on.


	10. Who's yer mamma?

A/N: This is a really short chapter but it's weird and fun at the same time. Dreams and revenge. Wow, she has some interesting days. Oh, and Sunstorm just can't win with Heatseeker.

---------------------------------------------

She's walking but she feels as if her feet aren't touching the ground. Everything around her is dark like a night sky if there were no moons or stars. It's black. She can see nothing but can hear everything. She hears the chattering of something. Not a chatter as in speech, but a chatter similar to gnashing teeth. There is whispering. Millions of voices whispering, none of them decipherable. The air is thick and sticky feeling. Then she stops.

She still sees emptiness around her when a light comes up from below. It's a dim, red glowing light that seems to radiate from the ground as if the ground itself is red from heat. She sees objects on the ground but their forms are distorted by a fog or steam that is creeping up from the glowing ground. She bends down to look closer at them. Bent, shattered, cracked and shredded carapaces are strewn about for as far as the dim light will allow her to see.

Then it all comes to her.

Everyone is dead.

Her friends, her enemies, unknown sparks. The red glow grows and brightens the landscape allowing shapes that had laid hidden behind the darkness to be seen. The crumpled remains of buildings, roads, statues. A low groan seemed to creep up from the depths of the ground, flashes of radiation lighting cross the sky. She stares out at the ghostly landscape, recognizing the broken structures around her. Iacon. Nothing was left of it now. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound except the groan from below which seemed to take on an air of sadness.

Cybertron is dying. What have we done?

She feels so sad. So lost. The grand structures which housed the most sacred of objects and the history of their kind were gone. The Tower of Pion, the Celestial Temple, the dome of the city seemed to have been flattened.

She was overcome with grief. So sad. So ashamed of what she had helped to destroy. She fell to her knees, overcome with the emotion and placed her face in her hands when she heard it. The groan from the ground grew louder but she hears something else over the sound. Laughter, the laughter of someone so sinister that only evil in it's pure form could create. She turns towards the sound and sees the silhouettes of two forms walking towards her. She knows these two all too well. Megatron and Shockwave.

She just waits. She knows what is coming. The two stop right behind her and say nothing.

The silence is deafening.

She hears Megatron calmly say ,"It is time."

Then the cool and cold sound of Shockwave's voice, "The next step." He pauses. " We know."

She tries to decipher what they just said but doesn't understand. She doesn't hear the gun, just feels the hot blast on her head. It's so swift, so quick, she can't even react. She feels like she's falling forever.

Then she wakes up.

_What the slag was that?_ She looks around and sees that she is in her recharge bay. Sitting up, she feels the back of her head. Nothing. Her pump is racing._ That dream was so real. Weird._ She sits upright in her bed for a moment thinking about it. _Everyone is going to die. Megatron won't stop until everyone either obeys him or all of his enemies are destroyed. All of them. He will devastate this world in his endless search for power. _

_I can't allow that. But_ do _they know?_

She has to reestablish her place in the force, regardless of what lies in her spark, even if it does mean taking a few hits. Then she remembers her unfinished business with Sunstorm. _Good place to start_, she thinks as she narrows her optics. She decides to forget the dream and go on a hunt for her wingmate.

As she walks down the corridor she wonders if maybe she is starting to go crazy.

------------------------------------------------------------

_Where is that slagging piece of junk?_ She walks into the, searching for the orange mech. She storms througt the doorway and sees him sitting in the chairs on the left side of the room, he's laughing with some of the other Seekers. The red femme walks angrily over to where he sits, plowing through Skywarp and Dirge who had their backs to the door when she walked in. She makes sure she gets a good shove in on Skywarp as she makes her way through the two.

"You slagging, son of a glitch, pile of rust!" She pulls Sunstorm by his neck, up from his seat a bit and punches him in the jaw. He falls back in the chair a look of shock on his face. Before he can protest, she pulls him up from his seat and yells only a finger's distance from his face," You fragging left me there!? And then you had the nerve to shoot me why your bright orange aft runs like a little scared sparkling?" She laughs wickedly," Oh, you're aft is mine now." She shoves him down on the floor and swings again, but he moves his head and her fist hits the floor. He tries to break free and push her off of him but she tries to hit him again, this time succeeding and makes solid contact with is head again. She continues to land a few more punches on him, putting a few mega-cycles of anger into this fight and it feels good.

"Get this glitch off of me!" He's yelling between flying fists. But most of the crowd is enjoying the show. It's not too often that Heatseeker is angry enough to take it out on anyone unless it's self defense. She's not brooding and hiding out today. She's live and full of fury, this is some of the best entertainment they've had in a while. Plus, seeing her as the aggressor is interesting.

She sits on his chest plate, painfully pushing her legs into his arms so that he can't move as she starts slapping him in the face, alternating her hands. "The next time." **Slap**. " You leave me to be taken prisoner." **Slap**. "I'm going to shoot the spark out of you so that I have something to savor while imprisoned." **Slap**. "You sack of slag." **Slap**. "Is that clear or do I have to keep hitting you?" **Slap**.

"It's clear! Get off of me." He yells, struggling to be free.

She stands up and lands a kick in his side before moving away. The severely ticked off femme points a finger at him as she steps backward and growls, "I am _not_ joking with you." She glances around at the rest of them as they watch on in anticipation of more fighting. The expressions on their faces are a mixture of shock and humor. "The next one that leaves me stranded behind enemy lines is getting shot or knived if I'm still alive. It's _that_ simple."

Skywarp and Dirge pick up Sunstorm off of the floor. She glares at him and shakes her head at them before walking over to the bar and grabbing, not one, but too cups of highgrade and sits down. She's sure that both Sunstorm and Skywarp, for the shove, are going to come looking for her later. She doesn't care. _Bring it on, glitches_. _I'm ready._

Heatseeker sits down in at one of the tables and places her cups in front of her. She glares over at the angry orange mech, who is rubbing his jaw and mouthing something about, "giving that glitch a taste of her own medicine when she leasts expects it." Skywarp shoots her a glance and a smirk that just says he's itching for another go at her. She shakes her head in disgust and raises a cup to her mouth.

"A little angry huh?" comes from her left, followed by stifled laughter.

She turns to see Thundercracker sitting next to her and glares over her cup."What the pit do you want?" She swallows the first cup in a large gulp.

A smirking Thundercracker raises an optic ridge at her tone and snorts, "Nothing. I'm just impressed with your show that's all."

"Good. I'm glad. It was more of a lesson than a show."

"So, he shot at you, eh?" Thundercracker looks very amused as he sips his energon. "I think he knows not to do that again."

"For his sake, I hope so." She decides to take it easy on the next cup and only takes a sip from it. She glances over the blue mech next to her, wondering why he is speaking to her. Shouldn't he be glued to Skywarp's side right now? She waves off the thought, not really caring and smiles to herself.

"Yeah. Well, those were some good hits you got in there." He gets up from his seat and walks back to the area where the other Seekers are. Sunstorm is glaring at her still so she throws him an insulting hand gesture and laughs.

_What the pit was that? Did he just...? Nah. What a fragging quartex. _She swallows the rest of her energon and heads back to recharge. _Hmph. Thundercracker actually spoke to me. That's it. Pit has officially frozen over._

She exits the mess watching where the hurting orange mech is. She'll have to watch her aft for a mega-cycle or two. She smiles, ready for the fight.


	11. Anger Issues

Flashback time!!! Before the war... Heatseeker has been spending so much time thinking lately, it was only a matter of time before she had a flashback. :-D I wanted to show how ruthless this chick can be. It's in her spark still even if her logic circuits are on a mission of their own. Plus, I just wanted to flaunt her badaftness and her great need for approval from Starscream. Sound familiar? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Anyway, so here it is.

--------------------------------------------

Heatseeker lays on the bench in the cell. _What the pit was I thinking_, she mulls over in her mind. Her feet are propped up on the wall and she's hanging her head over the edge of the bench, watching the world from upside down. She watching everyone walk around. Seeing fighters leave, fighters return often severely injured, some dead and carried through the hall she thinks about the outcome of her own fight soon to come. She turns a knife over and over in her hand, the familiar sickness in her reservoir and the weird rush in her fingertips returning. It was only a matter of time before she is to be lead out. _At what point will I finally just say enough or no when he asks?_ She hisses out a small laugh as she thinks of what lies ahead. So many mechs pass by where she is still laying upside down. She wonders who her prey is today? _Mech? Femme?_ Part of her hopes for a femme. It's been a while since she fought another femme and the crowd really seems to love a femme fight. Unfortunately, the other femmes tend to be smaller than her so even when their quick, it's not enough. They often resort to typical femme helmet grabbing and such. The kind of fighting she can't stand. Femmie fighting. The red femme snorts in disgust. She likes fighting the mechs since it seems to be more of a fair fight. _Whatever..._

She catches a glimpse of Starscream heading towards her, she lowers her feet from the wall and twists to sit up on the bench. He stops in front of the door to the cell she has chosen to prepare herself in. He shakes his head at her and gives her the 'you're so hopeless' look that really pisses her off. _Thanks for the vote of confidence, Screamer._ She narrows her optics at him as he speaks, one hand on a bar the other poised over the keypad. "Why, for the love of Primus, do you insist on locking yourself up in this thing each and every time?"

"It helps me to think." She says flatly, optics still narrowed at him.

Starscream raises his optic ridges at her and shakes his head, "Well I hope you've thought enough." He presses the code into the pad and pulls the barred door open." Are you sure you want to do this? Again?"

Heatseeker stands up and twists her head back and forth, loosening her dampers. As she passes through the door she stops next to him and glances sidelong, locking optics with him, "Yes. Worried?"

_She's in a cocky mood today_. He crinkles his lip components at her, choosing not to answer her question,"Bound to be a good fight."

"Mech or Femme?" Her face is impassive, as it often is when she prepares herself for the fight.

"Femme."

_Damned the luck_. Heatseeker gives him a disbelieving look, "But is she worth it? I want a fight, not a quick slaughter or a rolling femme fest on the ground."

The taller mech smiles wickedly at her, "Definitely. Another Seeker."

_No pit!_ "Really?" That was good news. Finally a femme worthy of her fight. "I better not be disappointed."

"Yes. She's young, cocky, and violent. Sound familiar?" He smirks at her. "You better watch your aft, you may have competition."

Oh, that last part hit a sensor. Seeing the fire in her optics and her lack of response, he knows he did exactly what he needed to. He put the anger in her. Now the fiery red femme ought to be ready to fight. Heatseeker doesn't speak as he leads her to that entrance she's walked through so many times before. The evil smile that crosses her face plates does all the speaking for her. She walks forward into the arena, the roar of the crowd a sweet song to her ears. She's_ the _femme. The champion femme. She revels in the sound. Her pump racing, an unseen crackling of energy coursing through her frame. She looks back towards the entrance which she had just passed through, flashing Starscream a demonic grin as she raises on fist in the air. This is her moment and the new glitch is going down.

A purple and black femme confidently steps into the arena across from where Heatseeker has entered. She attempts to give Heatseeker a cold, callous glare, hoping to instill fear. No fear is felt in Heatseeker's spark from this femme as she smirks back at her. "What's your name, femme?" Heatseeker beams at her opponent and asks in a voice so sweet and so friendly that it visibly confuses the new fighter.

The purple femme gains her composure before answering the red femme before her, "Vesper. Why do you care?"

Heatseeker's smile falls as she returns to her impassive glare. Her voice lowers as she speaks, "I want to know what name will be etched on the sword that will kill you."

Vesper shakes her head at the cocky femme and snorts,"We'll see about that."

The call goes out to begin the fight. Heatseeker stands back, prepared for the rush that Vesper puts on her. An opponent of equal size and speed, Vesper hits her with good deal of force but Heatseeker flips her over and lays a punch squarely in the purple femmes face plate. It is a strong punch that racks the femme with pain. Crying out she pulls at Heatseeker's helmet, aggravating the red femme. "Don't pull my helmet you, glitch. What the slag do you think this is, a sparkling fight?" Heatseeker sits up straight, straddling the red femme and drives both fists into her chest plates again before standing up. She grabs Vesper's hand and pulls her as the purple femme kicks and hollers. "Get up and fight me!" Heatseeker commands to the femme in her grip. The red femme throws the other's arm down at her. "GET UP! Or I will shoot you now." The furious, standing, femme watches her opponent slowly get up. She hisses at the injured femme, her lip components curling up in disgust, "This is a joke."

Vesper stands up,faces Heatseeker and says nothing as she aims a gun at her. Heatseeker does not move but instead laughs at the purple femme, nodding her head towards the weapon. "A gun. You get hit twice and you pull out a gun?! What is this? This is madness! I expect to fight a warrior but you are barely worthy of my effort to walk through that door." Heatseeker points at the door behind her. "Fight me like you mean it or shoot yourself now out of embarrassment."

Vesper glares at her as she throws her gun to the side and beckons Heatseeker to approach her. Heatseeker resolves herself to allowing the new fighter a chance to prove her worthiness and willingness to fight. She walks towards her, smirking, taunting the purple femme with her body language. Heatseeker raises her arms up to her sides both palms up, "I'll give you a free shot." Vesper wastes to time in taking that shot. A shot that makes Heatseeker bend over in pain. Vesper can't see the grin on Heatseeker's face. Pain is what it is all about.

"Thats more like it!" The red femme says as Vesper lays into her with all that she has. The two femmes throw punches, kicks, head buts, each other, whatever they can to disable the other one. After about 2 breems of hand to hand fighting, Heatseeker gains the upper hand by delivering a hard, fast blow with her elbow to the already weakened Vesper's chin, knocking the purple femme off of her feet and down onto her back.; unfortunately, placing the weaker femme close to the gun she had thrown only a short while before. Heatseeker's optics flare as she watches the weakened, dented, and cut femme reach for her gun, the stronger femme acts immediately. A red blur sweeps around next to the head of the fallen Vesper. The gun skitters aside and a swoosh cuts through the air as a sword comes down on the purple femme's arm, slicing it off just below the shoulder. The crowd erupts in a furious cacophony of cheers. Heatseeker stands up, grabbing the severed arm and breathes in the sound. The thrill engulfing her.

Vesper screams in agony on the ground as Heatseeker gives the arm a kiss and then throws it aside. Heatseeker leans down closely to Vesper's face and says sweetly but just loud enough for the crying femme to hear above her own wails of pain and shock, "I'm just a better fighter, Vesper. You didn't stand a chance." Heatseeker doesn't see the flash in the purple femme's still attached arm as Vesper, in one last chance to save her own life, drives a knife into Heatseeker's side. Heatseeker lurches forward in surprise. She looks at the femme below her and shakes her head as she stands up, "Nice effort. Shame it was a waste." Heatseeker looks down at the small knife sticking out of her side and laughs wickedly as she strokes it's hilt almost affectionately with her index finger. "I get to keep this one."

Heatseeker stands above a sputtering, energon covered Vesper. The angry red femme raises her sword up and the crowd cheers on wanting to see one of her cold hearted kills. She raises her left arm as if asking for a gift to be presented, a wish to be fulfilled as she turns in the direction of where she knows she is being watched, diligently. The glare of her optics begging for the kill. She awaits the sign, a yes of no. The crowd goes wild as the sign for 'Yes'. Is handed down. A wicked smile curls up on her lip components as she bows respectfully before turning back to Vesper.

Vesper lays on the ground still sputtering, energon runs from her open wound. The purple femme's optics wide in fear. Heatseeker stands over her, looking down, an expression of sympathy on her face. Then the sympathy fades into flaring optics and an evil, demented smile as the sword comes down towards the femme's spark.

--------------------------------------------

"Heatseeker!" She is violently jolted back to the present, literally, by two hands on her shoulders. "What is the matter with you?"

"I-I.." She looks around getting her bearings straight. Starscream is right in her face. She looks at him in bewilderment. "I-I don't know. What happened?"

"You were stunned." He stands back from her a look that could possibly be guilt on his face,"You took a hit. Offlined for breem but your optics never shut off. You seemed to be in an extended daze or something."

"_Who_ hit me?" She asks him suspiciously. The red femme already knows the answer she just wants to hear it from him. It's a training day, meaning she, being the junior there, has the unfortunate position of being the target for practice. Only two things are going to stun her like that and those would mounted on Starscream's arms. But both null rays are supposed to be set to a very low setting. She glares at him waiting for the answer. She hears snickers from behind her, recognizing them as belonging to Skywarp and Thundercracker, she vows to hurt one of them later. Preferably the one who she already has to even a score with. "Who _stunned_ my aft, Screamer?"

He stands back from her, seeing she is apparently okay and angry as usual, he waves a dismissive hand at her. "It was all part of the training."

She seethes in anger and embarrassment. "I can't believe you shot me." She shakes her head at him and glares at Skywarp and Thundercracker, who are still snickering. Turning back to Starscream, she adds, "Again."

Skywarp stops his snickering long enough to add what he just couldn't resist, "Hey, someone has to be the dummy."

Heatseeker turns to glare at the black mech, "To bad you already have that title."

His snickering stops as he catches her insult. He steps towards her as if to answer her want for a rematch but is stopped by Thundercracker, "'Warp. Come on. Not now." Skywarp looks at his friend, obviously not wanting to stop. The black and purple mech points a threatening finger at her to which she rolls her optics and turns back to Starscream.

"Okay, so can we finish whooping my aft for the day?" She may be back online but she's pretty numb. _Damn him. He owes me BIG TIME now_. The numbness is making it hard to walk. Her walk resembles more of a wobble than a walk right now.

Starscream watches her struggle and feels bad but can't help but chuckle at her odd gait. She shoots him another fiery glare as he speaks up, "Okay, I think that's enough for now. Time to head back. We'll debrief in a while. I'll call for you."

Heatseeker doesn't even try to transform. She sits down on the ground and looks up at him as they all leave."Don't you dare even think about leaving my aft here. You did this. You get to wait with me and suffer my attitude until I can feel my body again." She wiggles her fingers while grimacing. "Primus, what do you have those things set to?" She shakes her hands, making her look like an excited sparkling awaiting a gift.

"Not enough to shut you up, Heatseeker." He rolls his optics at her. The two of them were in pretty cranky moods today. "I don't know what got into you, but you were flying and fighting like you truly hated all of us." He stared down at her, something resembling concern on his face. "I haven't seen you that fired up in a while. What's gotten into you lately?"

"Nothing." She says flatly.

"Thats a bunch of slag and you know it." Now he just looks angry as he remains standing and crosses his arms. "You've been... off lately. Ever since your injury you've been acting weird."

"Thats a bunch of slag and _you_ know it, Screamer." The red femme's silver face flashed in hurt. "I have been no different."

"The pit you haven't." Now he looked angry,"You've been distant, more quiet than usual, as if that were possible, and your moods are erratic."

"Hello? Femme." She points to herself with both hands. "...Comes with the territory or do you forget that part when it's not to your advantage?" The 'oh slag' expression on her face corrects what she just said. She closes her optics and sighs just as he shoots her a spark piercing glare. "Sorry, I guess all the being ostracized is just getting to me anymore." The embarrassed femme pauses, thinking of what else to say and shakes her head, "It's not easy you know." She whines at him, "Think about it. I am_ the_ femme right now. No others. No one to talk to. No one talks to me. I have one friend and he just shot my aft with a null ray that wasn't set to the lowest setting." She shoots him a guilty look. _Time to kiss some aft. Talk about high maintenance._ She stands up and walks over to him, he's still giving her a distrustful glare. _Primus, stop it,_ she whines at him in her head. He watches her closely as she comes to stand directly in front of him, looking up, her optics pleading. "I'm sorry!"

Starscream looks down at her trying to decipher if she means it or not this time. She's still staring up at him with the pleading optics as she raises her hands up and rest them on his chest and mouths the words,"Please?" He inhales through his intakes and lowers his arms, "Okay."

She hates apologizing when she knows she isn't the one thats wrong but sometimes it's necessary to keep the peace. Well, that and the fact that an argument over who's right with Starscream can be never ending. Unless it's Starscream vs. Megatron, in which then Megtron will just point a fusion canon at his lieutenant which usually shuts him up, well, after some pleading from Screamer. She lacks the necessary fire power, rank and lack of respect for Starscream that Megatron has to pull off such an act. So instead, she ends the possible conflict with an ornery, slag eating grin. "Well, I must have been putting up a serious fight for you to laze my aft."

His face breaks into a smile at her last comment, "Yes, you were. Although, if I didn't hit you when I did, you probably would have tried to permanently offline Skywarp. You two seriously need to sit down and figure out why you loathe one another so much."

"Nah, it's more fun having someone to beat the slag out of a few times a deca-cylce." She quickly wiggles her optic ridges at him and grins. "Keeps me sane. Lock down duty with the two _friendliest_ con's on Cybertron makes me a little itchy for interaction from time to time. But I'll tell you what, working in the same room with Shockwave really makes you realize exactly how precious life is. Stay as quiet as possible because, one wrong answer and," she pretends her left fist is a laser and points it at him while closing one eye. She imitates the sound of a laser gun then makes a dead face at him, all which makes the white, red, and blue mech laugh, "the one optic'd wonder ends your aft because you're illogical."

"You can be so goofy sometimes," He's still laughing at her imitation of Shockwave and wraps an arm around her.

"I'm just being real." She looks up at him, "He freaks me out. Huge, purple, one optic, creepy voiced... Ick. You have to admit he gives you the creeps too."

"I can't stand him." He grimaces.

"You can't stand anyone!" She laughs.

"I can stand you. Don't know why though." He says as she punches him lightly in the side. He laughs and backs away from her.

"Whatever." She rolls her optics."Look, Mighty Supreme Air Commander of the Cybertronian sky, I have to get back for assistant duty to the two mad scientists. If I'm late, I'll probably get wired into the computer console and used as a telepathic antenna or sacrificed to the All Spark. Are we gonna go or just continue to razz each other out here in the middle of no where while the logic of my existence is pondered?" He raises an ornery optic ridge at her to which she shakes her head while rolling her optics. "_I _am going."

"Yes, I have to debrief all of you. Including the fallen 'enemy'." He smirks at her.

Now she raises an ornery optic ridge at him, "Race ya' back?" He nods, they both transform and take off. She didn't stand a chance at beating him but it sure as pit was fun trying.


	12. Unsure

,A/N: Reviews are appreciated. :-( I've been suffering from a killer case of writer's block so your input helps. Hell, if any of you have any ideas or input, that even helps. Sorry to sound so lost but since I've gotten back to the states, I have too many distractions!

------------------------------

Heatseeker managed to get to her appointed duty with only nanokliks to spare. Thankful to still be in one piece, she is now deeply immersed in the monitors before her. She studies the communications with the what resembles obsession more than duty. She needs to know more about them, more than she already does. She relays info here and there to Soundwave as she sees fit. Nothing too valuable, just enough to hopefully keep her in the safe zone from raising any suspicion from the telepath. It has been quiet and calm in the large, dark room. He hasn't tried to read her and she almost finds that fact unnerving. It's unlike him to not attempt it at least once. But right now, she is too busy trying to educate herself to worry about him. She has her psych barrier up anyway, so she figures she's safe.

Lying on the ledge in front of her are two data pads on which she has written down various notes. These aren't only notes collected from what she knows of the Autobots activities, but also notes she has collected of the Decepticons as well as some facts about Iacon. Sitting back from the monitor and rubbing the side of her face, she needs a break. She picks up one of the data pads and glances over some of the notes she had taken earlier back on Iacon's history, importance and strategic advantage, when suddenly her subconscious seems to kick her out of her chair. _What the pit am I looking at? _She peers closer at the data pads as if that alone will help her understand them better. She tries to decipher the text, taking a few breems to do so... _turbines?__Massive ones at that. Huh? What on creation are massive turbines doing under Iacon? _She searches data banks and finds nothing speaking of massive turbine engines under the city. She puts the data pad down in frustration, crinkles up her nose and rubs her face.

_Why would a planet need massive turbines, engines, whatever they are? _The history of this world is skewed. _Is there a standing possibility that the planet was a space craft at one point? Primus, that would have been a huge craft._ Her mind can barely fathom it's size. She takes a moment to imagine what such a large craft could do. The red femme looks over to Soundwave for a moment wondering if she should show him what she has. She turns back to the data pad and thinks about the age of such a structure. _Surely it can't still be capable of functioning. _She searches further for more information to help her try to shape the info in front of her into a solid idea and finds nothing. She taps her fingers on the ledge and then spins the stylus from her data pad around in her hand before making a decision. She transfers all of the useful notes to the data pad that doesn't have private data or sensitive info on it and turns around. Without speaking aloud she breaks the silence between the two of them.

_Soundwave?_

_Yes?_

_You want to take a look at this and see what you can make of it? _She leans over and hands him the data pad and turns back to her monitor, not giving it another thought. It's almost the end of her shift and her optics are just about spinning from the amount of data that they have gone over today. _Primus, I'm never going to recharge with this slag in the back of my brain. _She watches the clock while slowly sifting her way through her collected info, craving the flavor of some good, aged, high grade.

----------------------------------

The day had been too busy, too hectic. She had survived yet another training session, supposedly almost ended Skywarp and then numbed her logic circuits in front of the monitors in the comms room for cycles on end. Heatseeker was beat but first she needed to unwind and stop her racing logic circuits before she could slip into blissful recharge. She makes her way down to the crew mess where it is unusually quiet for once. Then again, it is late and most of the others have gone off to recharge. The red and black femme grabs a cube of high grade and sits down in her usual seat. She leans her head back on the back of the chair and closes her optics for a moment to clear her mind. She snaps out of her trance like state when she hears someone pull a chair up next to hers.

Heatseeker opens her optics and turns her head to the left, shocked to see Thundercracker has claimed the seat next to her. She says nothing to the blue mech but instead gives him a curious look while rubbing her optic ridge.

Thundercracker doesn't look at her as he rests his cube of high grade on the table in front of them, "Looks like you had one pit of a day." For once he doesn't sound as gruff and angry as usual.

The red femme's face registers surprise and unease as he speaks to her. She glares at him suspiciously but still does not answer him.

He chuckles lightly as he leans back in the chair, "You're always giving me the strangest looks."

"Um. Yeah. Because you're talking to me. You never talk to me. So forgive me for being a little suspicious." She sips her high grade, continuing to give him the same suspicious glare. She raises a hand at him as if to fend off what ever idea he may have, "If you're plotting some sort of revenge for Skywarp, it's pointless. He'll just try to pummel it out of my aft later. I'm sure you already know that, though." She sips carefully on the drink in her hand.

Thundercracker laughs at the thought. He studies the smaller Seeker beside him. Heatseeker is very uncomfortable right now and it's extremely obvious. The red & black femme looks as if she is about to bolt from her chair and she's increased the rate at which she is sipping her highgrade. "Calm down, femme. I didn't sit down next to you to fulfill some need to avenge 'Warp. I sat down to talk."

She sits back, surprised, one optic ridge raised much higher than the other. _He wants to talk. To me... Oh kay. What the slag is in this drink?_ She eyeballs her drink suspiciously as well. Thundercracker's nonchalant attitude is so odd. Even for him. He's acting as if this conversing between the two of them is a normal, everyday occurrence. While she's never had a problem with the usually loud and rumbly mech, the recent attention he's been paying her seems off kilter and makes her very uncomfortable.

She tries reading him to see if she can get a clue as to what he wants. She finds no malice or hate in him at the time. Nothing even remotely close. He seems calm and almost amused by her in a non-threatening manner. She senses something else that she can't quite get a handle on. Something indecipherable and buried deep or something, maybe he isn't even aware of yet. _In-ter-est-ing. How odd._ Now she's curious. What exactly is going on in his logic circuits that she isn't picking up? She calms down a bit and relaxes. She knows her body language is giving her away because he smiles at her as she does so. Okay, this is really wierd. "Alright, since when have we started talking?" She laughs nervously at the end of her sentence and shifts into her chair a little.

"Since I started to notice that it seems that we have something in common." Thundercracker watches Heatseeker's response to his words with interest. He opened the door either she'll take it or leave it. Judging by the look of dull surprise on her face she's going to take it.

"Being?" The femme puts her high grade down on the table and then leans cooly back into her chair, arm's crossed, amusement written all over face.

He smiles at her again, the kind of smile you give someone when revealing a secret. "A general lack of interest in work. In this life. In what goes on around you. Heatseeker's face goes blank. _Bingo, nailed it,_ he mentally pats himself on the back.

"What would lead you to believe that?" She looks guilty, there's no way around it.

"I know the signs. I know what to look for. You may be able to pull off innocence and looking like part of the team to others but I know indifference when I see it." He sips his cube and watches her reaction intently. The red femme lowers her silver face and appears to mull over what he just told her. She looks as if she's just been sold out in front of everyone they know. Slowly, anger begins to filter into her face. He interrupts her before she reacts to him. "Heat," She raises an optic ridge at him as he uses her nickname, he continues on anyway, "I know you don't have anyone to talk to about it. The only one you do talk to is second in command of us all. Not the best place to be in when contemplating your purpose."

"So what are you saying?" The anger in her voice growing more evident with each uttered word, "That you can be my shoulder to cry on? Please. Like me, you're a 'con." She throws both hands up in the air and looks away before turning back to him," Can't be trusted. So I have to know what is it you really want T.C.?" Since they're using nicknames, she decides to use his on him. Surprisingly enough he grins upon hearing her speak it. For the first time she notices that under his permanently scowl, he's actually not that threatening looking. About as fast as that thought enters her mind, she pushes it away._ I'm loosing my fragging mind here._

Thundercracker leans toward as he swishes the liquid in the cube back and forth, "I don't want anything. Hard to believe I'm sure. But I don't. You don't have any friends, Heatseeker. You have plenty of enemies both inside and out but not many friends."

"So what. Are you volunteering for the position?" She looks confused but defiant. The conversation doesn't seem to be going where she thought it would not that she knew or had an idea where it should go. What point is he trying to get too?

Thundercracker looks at the lone drop of energon in his cube and sighs to himself,"Slag, you're difficult." He places the cube down and stands up, "No. Just now you know that you aren't alone." He turns to walk away as she watches him, trying to think of something to say. Mildly surprised, her mouth opens but nothing comes out. Just as he gets to the door, she speaks up.

"Thundercracker?"

"What?" He doesn't turn around, the gruffness is back in his voice. He hears her sigh behind him.

She mumbles a small but questionable, "Thanks."

He grunts something that may be a "yes." and she watches him exit. Heatseeker stays in the room for a while thinking about yet another encounter with Thundercracker. She still doesn't understand why he has any amount of interest in what she thinks or feels. Why did he stop Skywarp from trying to slag her butt earlier? _What is he up to? Maybe he's not that bad after all? Riiiight. Shame he's friends with the moron._ She rolls her eyes at the thought of Skywarp. _How the pit? Now they want to be my friends. What the frag?_

-------------------------------

Skywarp was giving her that look. That look that said "watch your aft." She hates that look. Primus, why won't he just go away. Thundercracker on the other hand gives her a slight nod, which much to his surprise, she returns, causing Skywarp to look at them both in confusion.

The black and purple mech points a finger at the small femme walking past them, "Since when have you started acknowledging her?" The sound in his voice balanced perilously on the ledge of jealousy.

Thundercracker chuckles at his friend's reaction, "She's not that bad, 'Warp." The blue mech says as he reaches for one of the data pads displaying their plan.

"Not that bad? That femme is **vile**." Skywarp's voice sounds as if he is about to spew forth the contents of his reservoir. "She's got a nasty attitude, a superiority complex and need I mention her tendency to do whatever Starscream asks of her. Forgive me if I don't trust_ or_ like her. She's no different from him."

Heatseeker apparently heard Skywarp's comment and shoots him a glare that could split armor. The red femme turns on her heel and heads his way, looking towards Thundercracker in a manner that says, "...nothing to do with you," before seriously invading Skywarp's personal space.

Pointing her finger in the taller mech's face, she finally lets him know how she feels, "I don't care if you like me. I'm not here to be your buddy, but one thing is for sure, I watch your aft and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. _Or _just fall at that. I expect the same, fragger, get it? I'm tired of fighting with you. Personally, I don't like you but _un_like you, I'll provide cover and do my best to ensure your annoying aft doesn't end up in enemy hands. Which is a lot more than you do for me, Skywarp." She turns around and goes back to reading her datapad. Skywarp's jaw is slack from shock at her public belittling of him. She's never done that before. His mouth still open in surprise, he curiously turns to Thundercracker who only shrugs and continues to read his data pad, not raising his optics from it.

The black and purple con looks curiously at his friend," Is there something I need to know about?"

Thundercracker still reads his datapad but nods his head towards the pad in Skywarp's hand,"Yeah and it's in your hand."

-----------------------------

Heatseeker carefully reads over her data pad, three times. She's having a hard time understanding what she's looking at. She decides its time for a little help. "Starscream." She looks over to the Air Commander expecting to him to look up but he doesn't. He's deeply immersed in whatever self loving nonsense he's managed to concoct this time. She tries again, clearing her vocal circuits this time, "Starscream." he looks up and turns his attention to her.

"Yes?" He sounds midly annoyed, not to her surprise.

Heatseeker looks down at her datapad, confusion crosses her face as she looks back up and asks,"Permission to speak to you in private, _sir_."

Everyone else in the room stops at the tone of her voice. She sounds serious, unusually serious at that. The air commander nods at her even though he looks irritated at her request, as he motions to a set of doors leading to the room adjacent the one they are all standing in. "Make it quick." She nods obediently.

The two Seekers walk through the doorway, Heatseeker stares at the door impatiently as it closes behind them. She waits until she hears the locking mechanism engage before speaking, looking up at Starscream with troubled optics. When she speaks, her voice is peppered with apprehension. "Screamer, is there something you need to tell me?"

Starscream peers down at is partner and friend in the most benign way he possibly can without saying the truth, "No. Why?"

Heatseeker lifts the data pad in her left hand up and appears to read over it again. "I'm chasing Autobots amongst the sparklings? Why am I going there? What am I _supposed _to be doing?"

Starscream looks away for only a split astrosecond and appears to stumble over his words as he does so, not a trait often associated with him. At least with her," Check their status, inform us, look for any potential candidates."

The curious femme reads him for a moment, gauging his reaction she decides he's hiding something, "Starscream, why?" The look on her face plates conveys genuine curiosity and worry.

"Just look. Thats all. No worries, just see what you can find."

"Why me?"

"You are a femme." He says in a matter -of-fact tone.

Heatseeker crinkles her faceplates up at him, "A femme? What does that have to do with it? Whats going on? There's something you're not telling me." She says shaking her head. She knows there is much to the survival of their growing empire than he tells her. After the last 2 million vorns, she has grown accustomed to it but usually she does not ask. But on most occasions, what ever those secrets are, they do not involve the lives of innocent sparklings and their caretakers. This time, she has an inkling that that is the exact problem. It _does_ involve the lives of those innocent sparklings and their caretakers.

Heat' was never a sparkling. Created for a purpose in which a sparkling would not suit, she came into existence as a preprogrammed adult femme. Unfortunately, the programming of a typical femme was as present in her processors as was that of her personality. War or not, it should not extend into the realm of the innocent and young. She still has a small amount of care and concern for the well being of sparklings in her own spark.

She sighs, trouble vibrating through her frame, she's trying her best to appear detached from this mission. "Sparklings? You've sent me on a sparkling sitting job?" She tries her best to look angry and not worried.

"Not me, Megatron" His grey face convey's how serious he is.

The red femme shakes her head upon hearing that name and looks up at him, she rubs the back of her neck with her right hand, worry radiating from her, "Sparklings... Please tell me you need me to recruit and that is it." She feels sick to her reservoir. She knows how demented Megatron is. The War was is in its infancy. Their scouting mission of Iacon a few deca-cycles ago had triggered the first strike. For five deca-cyles now, things had been getting more difficult for them all. While Decepticon forces had managed to gain the upper hand they were still losing soldiers and not gaining many. The Autobots seemed to have a never ending supply of recruits. The sparklings, cared for by Autobot nurses, teachers and caretakers, were not joining the Decepticon side. Well, a few were, but they literally were a few. The 'Cons were grabbing those few new loyalists or rebels as they were known, when possible.

Starscream reads the worry in Heatseeker's face. He finds it interesting considering she was never a conscious sparkling. Onlining in adult hood, she came into the world similar to an amnesia patient. Unaware of her surroundings, she only needed to be reacquainted with the world around her. Not a hard task considering she had him to usher her into this new world. But still, the red femme retained what it was that made the femmes, femmes and mechs, mechs, the will to continue the race even if it was someone else's sparkling.

He places one arm on her shoulder as she looks up at him with the need for answers flooding her face, "Go, check out what you can and find any recruits thats all."

She nods obediently, then speaks up again,"But I want to fight."

"I know. But right now, we need you to do this." Something crosses his faceplates for a astrosecond, something he isn't telling her. For once, he looks as troubled as her.

"Sceamer," She steps closer to him, close enough to see the intricate pattern of his optics focusing behind the small hexagonal shields that protect them,"theres more..."

He manages a small smile at her, "Later."

She nods again, still unsure but willing to go further. Who knows what she may find upon arriving there. Heatseeker lifts her left arm up, activating her comms immediately. She speaks clearly, " Sunstom, are you ready?"

The orange seeker returns her inquiry with a sense of distaste to which she chuckles while looking back at Starscream and shaking her head,"Okay. Lets go." She gives him a quick glance backwards, same worry on her faceplates as she joins her wingmate ready to fly off to whatever insane mission they are on. Primus and Megatron know why they're doing it.


	13. One PIT of a day Whew

**A/N**: Well, here is some kiddy funness (is that even a word? Lol). I don't have kids, I don't really want any so the inspiration for this chapter is drawn from 20 years of babysitting, growing up with a little sister who was a nuisance (back in our younger days) and watching all my friends have kids for the last 13 years. Needless to say, there is a lot of me in Heatseeker for the first part of this chapter.

I drew a bit of the inspiration for the Shyri Institute from Karategal's depiction of the Floatilla. I've been in the military and/or military organizations most of my life so Institutions like the Shyri make sense to me. So I apologize if my depiction seems a little cold. I'm trying, I really am.

**Okay **for the second part. I added a little bit more intimacy between Screamer and Heatseeker. If you can't handle it, don't read beyond Heatseeker's defense of the Seekers. It's not _too_ graphic so as to keep the rating at T+.

_---------------------------------------_

_Sparkling sitting._** Sparkling **_sitting. Primus, when I'm I finally going to get the sense to say "frag it...NO." The punishment won't be that bad..._. Heatseeker and Sunstorm stand just outside the doorway to one of the institutes. Heatseeker stares up at the large, pale blue structure that houses the administrative offices in awe. It's such a large facility, spreading out in a fan from this main building. The institute grounds are like that of a small city within a city. _It's_ full _of little ones in there_, she thinks to herself. The feeling of dread in her reservoir hasn't subsided a bit as she shifts uncomfortably in the fading daylight. She glances over to the Orange mech beside her still thinking about her first time meeting sparklings and contemplates his extra cheery color as she chuckles softly to herself, startling him.

"What's so funny?" He glares hatefully at her. She always seems to be giving him slag, she can only be up to the same thing right now.

"Oh, nothing... Well," She shakes her head and starts to laugh a bit more as she rubs the back of her neck with her hand, then seems to become aware of the nervous gesture and lowers it. "I was thinking, if I had to be sent of to mingle with ankle biters, I might as well do so with the brightest colored mech in the ranks. The kiddies are sure to love you, 'Storm."

The look radiating from his face plates could rattle her armor, if she was scared enough of him to be threatened. It was no surprise that the two just didn't get along. He and Skywarp both have her on their least favorite Seeker list. The brazen femme figures that the odds of him giving her a radiating hug in front of a major neutral location are slim so she shakes his threatening look off. Plus, supposedly, her feminine spark is required for this particular mission. Something tells her that it's not a job that Sunstorm would be able to manage on his own. She steps forward, beckoning for him to follow,"Come on Sunshine, we've got young ones to corrupt."

His angry voice growls from behind her, "Heatseeker, so help me Primus, one of these days, you're gonna burn." Her telepathic conscience can feel the hatred emanating from him. For a split second, what little trust she has of him fades away into the purple sky above. Deciding that she was right before and he won't do anything here, she brushes his reaction off.

The red femme doesn't turn to him as she walks through the doorway, coolly responding to his threat, " Okay. Thats nice. When that time comes at least I can thank you for the warning. Right?"

She sighs nervously, hoping that he didn't hear her, as they enter the lobby. Her nervous sigh wasn't for his benefit or even because of him, she is still unsure about being around so many sparklings. How is it possible that she has faced so much in battle and war and yet something like a tiny bot has her so nervous? She steps forward into the lobby, her feet seem to have grown heavier since their arrival._Show time, 'Heat. You can do this. Just don't corrupt any of them. No matter how much you want to. Well, not yet anyway. _

-------------------------------------

The lobby to the administrative wing is large and beautiful. Basked in a preternatural glow, the pristine white room seems to stretch up into the unknown, pale blue colored light lining the walls and fading up to the ceiling. The light gray colored floor mixed with the blue lights, white walls and bright light make the room seem to be the embodiment of peace. Heatseeker feels her spark calm as she walks towards the low, white reception desk in the center of the room. One lone receptionist, a tiny green piece of femme with an overly cheerful demeanor stands up to greet the two individuals who just broke up her rather boring shift. She smiles warmly at the two seekers.

"Hello, welcome to the Shyri Institute. How may I help you?" The tiny, squeaky sounding femme looks up at the towering femme and more towering mech before her, her bright smile faltering for a moment as her optics drift to the insignia on their wings.

Heatseeker, now slightly calmed by the room, tries her best to sound warm and friendly. She frowns slightly to her self as no matter how hard she tries, it sounds forced and phony. But the stubborn femme continues on anyway again trying a weak smile, "Hello. I'd like to see the director please."

"Do you have an appointment?" The bright and cheerful grin seems to be permanently plastered on the tiny femme's face. Heatseeker looks at her name tag noting her name is as scarily cheerful as her appearance, Xixi._ How cute. Ick_. Heatseeker contemplates the possibility of whether or not the Autobots using a tool such as overly friendly, overly cute femmes as a suppression tactic against the Decepticons would work._ Scary,_ she laughs to herself.

She turns questioningly to Sunstorm as he gives her a terse shrug for "no." Trying her best not to look like she really wants to squash the bubbly femme, she smiles warmly as she answers her, "No, um.. Xixi,"Trying not to giggle as she speaks the receptionist's name, "we don't. This is sort of a spur of the moment thing." She even adds a little nervous giggle at the end for added effect. Girlish doesn't work for her. She'll avoid trying it in the future.

Xixi stops to think for a minute, staring the two Seekers up and down again."Let me call her office and see if she's available? Who should I say is asking for her and what is your interest?"

"Our interest is any potentials." Without saying who she is or who they just to happen to work directly for, it doesn't take much for peppy little Xixi's face to fall as she nods and calls the Director. Heatseeker can't help but smirk at the green femme's reaction.

Starting to feel uncomfortable in this environment again, Heatseeker leans forward and taps lightly on the counter top, getting Xixi's attention," We'll just wait over there" The red femme motions towards the bank of chairs by a large window off to the side of the lobby. Xixi presses a button on her communicator and smiles up at the guest, "Okay. It'll only be about a breem then Director Mantis will be right with you." Heatseeker nods at her and walks over to the chairs. Plopping down in one and resting her head in her hands. She'd really rather be slagging the life out of something but orders are orders, even if they are the crappy ones. Plus, her curiosity is piqued by this odd side mission. She really wants to know what they could possibly want, not believing that recruits are it.

She feels a set of optics boring into her as she turns her head and sees Sunstorm glaring at her. The two have never gotten along, mostly stemming from conflicting beliefs and one too many arguments that arose from discussions about such things. He believes he is on a mission to save their race, she believes he is a whack job. He doesn't care, right now it's too much fun watching the mighty femme fret about coming into contact with a bunch of sparklings. The orange mech figures that her motherly instincts are about as well formed as Megatrons love instincts. Missing or absolutely faulted beyond repair. She is, after all, Starscream's other half. _This ought to be an interesting mission._ A small smile curls up on his lip components as he watches her shift nervously in the chair._They may not get to kill anything, but at least watching the fragging red femme sweat energon over a bunch of mini-bots is worth being given the backseat to destruction. _He can't help but add fuel to the fire.

"They're going to be all over you you know?" A sly smile grows on his already curled lip components. Heatseeker doesn't speak to him as she turns her head, which is still resting in her hands, in his direction and gives him a bored glare.

"You're a femme _and_ your a Seeker. The_ only_ one. You'll be the most interesting thing they've seen here, I'm sure. All the little kiddies are going to be practically attached to your legs." The orange mech laughs at the mental image, "Oh, this is going to be classic. Seeing you with sparklings. This'll be better than any torture or punishment Megatron or Soundwave could do to you. Pit, even when Starscream lazed your aft, which was incredibly funny by the way, pales in comparison to this." He adds a wicked laugh to the end of his sentence.

Heatseeker drops her hands to her knees and rolls her optics at his taunts, answering him with a curt, "I hate you." As she leans back in the chair, resting her head on the back of it and stares towards the ceiling which seems so far away.

Sunstorm breaks into a smile that as is bright as his paint job, his voice seeming unnaturally high as he giggles at her response, "I know. It's great."

"Frag you." She says flatly, still staring at the ceiling.

He laughs harder at her response. He doesn't get a chance to say anything else as a tall, large, kindly looking, dark blue femme approaches them. "Hello, I am Director Mantis. I was told you are here looking for potentials?" The director holds out a hand to Heatseeker.

Heatseeker stands up and shakes the director's hand. "Hello, Director. I am Heatseeker, "She motions towards the evil sparked, orange mech who is still seated in his chair, "and this is Sunstorm. We have been sent here on orders to do exactly that."

"Ah, well, it has been a while since any of," the director's optics shift to the insignia on Heatseeker's chest, "... any of your kind have come here to do so. If you come with me, I will show your around." A small wiry, grey mech hurries into the lobby as well. Director Mantis turns to see him sliding into their circle, "Ah, this is Argento, one of the instructors here. He will be guiding you, sir." She motions towards Sunstrom. Argento is old, he's possibly the oldest mech that Heatseeker has ever laid optics on, but he looks so frail she can't help but stare at him in wonder as he walks over to Sunstorm and sticks out a very craggy looking hand. Sunstrom shakes his hand with apprehension but grimaces at the old mech's unexpectedly strong grip. Heatseeker giggles at Sunstorm as he looks as uncomfortable now as she did just moments ago.

Heatseeker turns her attention back to the matronly looking femme before her, "Seperate tours?"

"Yes, dear, seperate. The young ones learn together but the typical antics of sparklings requires that they dorm separately."

Heatseeker nods slowly, fully understanding the Director's point. It is the same reason why she is so lucky to have an entire berth to herself. But she wasn't aware that they would be faced with such an issue here considering the ages of the inhabitants. Apparently, such problems must start at a very young age. She has much learning to do about younglings... "Are they in classes now?"

"No, their regular class time ended about a cycle ago. Now they are in after school activities, athletics, science club.. you know, things of that sort." Mantis seems to be so proud of the sparklings, she radiates a motherly glow. It almost appears to be fitting if you think about her position, onsidering the circumstances surrounding why the young ones are in extended care institutes versus being with their parents is clear, she is a mother of sorts to all the little ones in this Institute. With the ongoing and growing war not far from here, it's just safer for the next generation of Cybertronians to be in a protected environment, allowed to grow as normal and to be cared for by an extended family unit that provides them with safety and love.

"Are there more caretakers?"

"Oh, yes. We have many who stay here with the little ones. Mostly femmes of course."

Heatseeker nods, knowingly, she hopes. "Y-yes of course."

Mantis turns to the tall red and black femme beside her and carefully gives her a once over, "you look worried. May I ask why?"

They had walked away from Argento and Sunstorm and made their way to the lifts. The two femmes step in and Mantis taps a button on the control panel, Heatseeker's face gets very serious, "I've never been around sparklings."

"Oh. Well, you're a soldier. I would not think it's very common for you to be near them anyway. But surely you can remember your own youth..." The director looks surprised at Heatseeker's admission.

Heatseeker cuts her off before she can finish her sentence, "Nope. Fully formed femme. No parents, no youth for me. Just an awakening."

Mantis frowns at the tall red femme beside her,"Oh dear. Now I see. Well, contrary to common belief, they don't bite. We'll not all of them anyway." She flashes Heatseeker an ornery grin which works to relax her just a tiny bit. The 'con appreciates the older femme's attempt to calm her sensors.

Both femmes exit the lift and enter into a large recreation room. Heatseeker stops dead in her tracks upon viewing the chaos at hand. Vorns of war could not prepare her for what lie before her. Sparklings, what seemed to be hundreds of them (but were truthfully only about 50) were running amuck, almost in a state of madness. Screams, giggles, laughter; cries of joy, frustration and pain seem to come from every corner or tile in the room. Tiny little robots were crawling, walking and running in endless circles amongst each other in a state of eternal joy or frustration, their caretakers diligently chasing after them.

Heatseeker has to catch her breath. She feels like a quiet giant in a sea of insanity and noise, her optics squinting in pain from the shrillness of all the noise. How could beings so tiny create such a racket? She places her hands over her audio receptors trying, in vain, to drown out the noise. Director Mantis giggles, not so silently, at her obvious discomfort. Not doing so to be mean, she is just amazed with the Decepticon's reaction. Even for a soldier, it is rare to see a femme react like this.

"You _really_ aren't use to them are you?" The matronly 'bot smiles kindly but that smile almost seems to be laced with some sick enjoyment.

"Not in the slightest. Do they ever stop?" Heatseeker clenches her jaw to numb the pain.

"Only when they collapse out of exhaustion." The director smiles lovingly at the small bots in the room.

"When will that be?" She hopes for soon._ Please, Primus, soon. I think my circuits are curling in on themselves._

"You can never tell." Mantis answers whimsically.

"No..." Heatseeker whines. Three little blue and purple sparklings run around her in a circle firing makeshift "lazer" guns at the red and black Seeker. Their shrill giggles wreaking havoc on her audio circuits. _Please , Primus, never let me become a mother. I don't think I can do it. Little brats..._. No sooner is she done begging Primus for mercy does one of the little purple mech bots stomp on her foot and kick her in a tender spot on her shin. "Ow you little..." She stops short as Mantis shoots her a careful glance. She rethinks what she was about to call the little sparkling, the sourness surfacing in her voice, "...little bundle of joy." She sneers at her last words. Mantis smiles in approval at her.

The little purple sparkling stares up at her, "I'm gonna be an Auotbot and I'm gonna kill all of you Decepkons."

Heatseeker kneels down and smirks down at the little bot before her, "Well, aren't you a little over achiever?" The small sparkling looks confused at her words and points his "laser" weapon at her again and makes a "Pew Pew" noise as he "fires" his weapon into her face. She stands up, glaring down at the small one adding flatly, "what a precious gem." The red femme turns to the older one beside her, "Can we move on to the more suitable subjects please?"

Mantis gives the taller femme next to her a sly smile, "Oh, you don't like the small ones?"

Heatseeker fakes comfort as best she can, "They're wonderful but they are no use to me at the moment. Can we move on please?"

"Yes, of course." Mantis waves good bye to one of the caretakers who nods in response as she and Heatseeker leave the room. They walk into the adjacent passageway and through a set of locked double doors.

The double doors open up to a large blue room full of more toys, smaller robots, screaming, cries of anger and cries of laughter. Only this room is not as loud and invasive on one's circuitry as the room before. Mantis steps into the room first, "this is the recreation deck for the tiniest of the sparklings." Seeing the look of caution on Heatseeker's face plates she continues, "We can stay here for a moment if you like but we're just passing through. The bridge over to the wing with the older sparklings is just passed this room." She points to another set of double doors. Heatseeker can see an enclosed bridge on the other side of the two blue doors.

Heatseeker peers into a pen like contraption in which there are three little cooing sparklings playing with their toys. This innocent little beings seem so much more benign than the small demons they left in the room before this. These tiny little sparklings, she actually finds interesting. The curious femme is stunned by their miniscule size, she holds up her own hand and looks at the size of it compared to the tiny bot before her. Only about twice as big as her hand, a little yellow sparkling stares up at her with beautiful sky blue optics and giggles before letting out a shrill scream of laughter and reaches up to her outstretched hand. The red femme looks over to Mantis who nods at her as she lowers her finger down to the little one. They tiny yellow bot grabs onto her finger with a strong grip which surprises her. _How strong!_ "Primus!" she exclaims, completely blown away by the tight grip of the little mini mech.

Mantis steps closer to the pen as a pink and green caretaker leans over to check on the other little ones in it, "He's a strong one, that one. He has the will of a giant, the vocal circuits of a demon and the ability to escape this pen so I have to watch him_constantly_. He's gonna be a handful." The pink and green femme puts a hand up to her grinning mouth and says lightly, "He's my favorite."

The little yellow bot lets go of Heatseeker's finger as he places a toy in his mouth letting out another squeal of joy before he starts babbling and clicking incoherently. "He's talkative huh?"

Mantis nods and moves back to the passageway, "Yes, he most definitely is. Come, lets go meet the ones who can actually carry on a somewhat grownup conversation."

--------------------

Director Mantis had shown Heatseeker around the areas of the institution that housed the older sparklings, mostly those where about to reach the age at which they would leave and go out on their own. Heatseeker had found a surprisingly large amount of prospects to bring back to Megatron. She doubted he would care about half of the names she had gotten considering they were all femmes. These femmes all had natural talent in the art of war but they were still femmes, useless in her leaders opinion. She now knew that the only other thing she could get to keep from getting slagged upon her return from this mission, was info. Info about the size of the facilities, how many there were, how many inhabitants they numbered for their own knowledge. She prayed that this info was going to be used to calculate how many more prospective soldiers there could be but the hollow pit in her reservoir told her it was otherwise. She still felt that the tyrant had other plans for these institutes. He was too ruthless.

She and Director Mantis made their way into the staff library which was empty, so that they could discuss things. Both femmes sat down at a table, Heatseeker pulled out a data pad on which to take notes. She spoke first. "Director, I'd like to know more about these facilities. Call it a fascination if you will. Being as I don't come from a background like anyone here really does." Mantis nods understandingly at the red femme before her.

"Of course. I can understand that."

Heatseeker smiles at the femme. "Where are the parents?"

"Well, most of the fathers are out fighting the war. A lot of the mothers are caretakers here and at the other institutes, some are also out fighting. In some cases though, the parents part with their little ones understanding that this maybe the safest place for them. It's not an easy task for those families. We do provide housing in the family housing sectors for those parents whom wish to stay close to their sparklings. Sort of a small city within a city."

Heatseeker nods as she jots down notes in her datapad. She see's Mantis eyes the pad suspiciously, she attempts to calm the older femme's sensors, "I was a researcher before the war. Note taking is a nasty habit of mine." She smiles weakly," I like to go over my notes later." Again, Mantis nods at her before she continues. "How many facilities are their and are they all this large? Speaking of large, I know you already told me, but how many does this facility house?"

"It's a 1400 body facility, complete with a medical unit. There's about 30 of these through out the more docile regions of the planet. None in Kaon or any of the destroyed territories of course. They are all about the same size and design capable of holding a max amount of 2000 sparklings and staff."

Heatseeker blinks back her shock at the sheer amount of personnel that are housed at all of the institutes. A max amount of 60,000 sparklings and staff. Considering how there aren't many femmes to begin with, she suffices that the majority of the civilian femme population is at these facilities. That would make them an easy target should Megatron loose it. He could easily take out the next generation of them all if the desperation hit him. Her thoughts are cut off by the door opening in the front of the room. To her surprise, another caretaker walks in followed by Arcee of the Autobots. Both warrior femmes glance at each other in surprise for a moment. Arcee heads over to Heatseeker, a slight smile on her face.

The tiny pink femme hold out her hand at the tall seeker before her. "Heatseeker. This is the last place I would have expected to run into you? How are you?"

"I'm as well as can be expected, Arcee. And you?" She hadn't spoken to the pink femme much. They had only done so briefly during Heatseeker's short stay with the Autobots. She knew that Arcee was a fierce, fast and talented warrior. For some unknown reason, the two had immediately felt comfortable with the other. Funny considering how much they really should hate one another. The respect they had for one another seemed to out weigh any hatred that should have been present.

"I'm doing well. What are you doing here?" She seemed a slight bit as uncomfortable talking like this with their company as Heatseeker did.

"Recruiting." The red seeker laughed nervously,"You doing the same?"

"No," Arcee smiles brightly, "I like to come down here to be reminded why we fight for what we do. And it's nice to see some smiling faces. I have a few old friends who are caretakers here. I'm off for once. How about you?"

"Heh," She's getting tired of telling her story today,"Nope. Just working."

The caretaker Arcee had entered with and the director are both staring at them confused. They look between the two, an Autobot and a Decepticon, trying to understand how they know one another and how these two femmes of warring factions are actually talking on friendly terms. Heatseeker reads their reactions to her and Arcee and lets out a low chuckle. "We met while working. Long story. But..." Heatseeker shrugs at them. Both nod still looking confused.

"Well," Mantis stands up, "if you both would excuse us for a moment we have to discuss, something sensitive. We'll be back shortly. You're welcome to continue catching up if you'd like."

Heatseeker and Arcee both nod and say "Thank you." as the two other femmes leave the room. Heatseeker waits until their gone to sit down, motioning Arcee to do so as well. The red femme opens up a small compartment on her left arm and pulls out a tiny chip which she places in her datapad and begins to back up her data. She looks up at the door, checking it, before speaking. "Here, I've been hoping I'd run into one of you."

Arcee looks curiously at what Heatseeker is doing. "why?"

"Well, I'm sure everyone you work with knows what I said when you all had me. Right?" Arcee shakes her head,"Okay, well it's irrelevant right now. Here." The chip is done loading and she pulls it from her data pad and hands it to Arcee, who has crinkled her face up in confusion. "They're my notes. Everything, I found a few possible theories and... a little more. This is going to sound crazy but I think these facilities are on Megatron's destruction map."

Arcee's optics widen at Heatseeker's words, "Again, why?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that a mission like this just doesn't happen. I've gotten info that is useful to him but only as much as I'd need to keep suspicion off of me. You don't have to believe me, but between him destroying our planet and now this little adventure, I have a horrible feeling deep inside of me that I can't shake." She stares Arcee down, willing the smaller femme to listen to her.

"Heatseeker, why should I believe you?"

"Primus," the red femme rolls her optics,"is that an Autobot saying or something? Do you all have that on posters in your base?" Arcee purses her lips at her and narrows her optics. "look, I'm sorry. It's just every last one of you has said that to me by now. I understand why, believe me. But it still is pretty annoying. Anyway, I'm doing this because I might as well do some good in my life. I've done a lot of bad slag and no amount of good deeds will reverse what I've done or may still do, but they'll at least make me feel like I did something other than kill everything in site and sometimes, you just need to do the right thing. Even if it goes against what you believe." She looks down at the data pad in front of her waiting for Arcee's response.

"Okay. That makes enough sense." Arcee places the chip in her own compartment on her arm. "I know who to give it to. But let me ask you this? If you want to do good, why not switch sides?"

"Because it's more complex then just waking up from recharge and saying 'Oh, I don't want to hang with them anymore.' At least for me anyway." She sighs tiredly as she rests her head in her hand, turning to look at the pink femme next to her. "There are certain... things... holding me to where I am. Maybe one day I'll be able to explain but right now isn't one of those."

Arcee smiles at her and rests a hand on the larger femme's arm. "Hopefully you will. You're quite skilled and it would be nice to see those skills on the right side someday." Heatseeker manages a small smile in response to the Autobot's words. She raises her head as the door opens and the caretaker and Mantis reenter the room apologizing for the delay.

"It's okay, Director," Heatseeker stands up. "I have to be going anyway." She looks over to Arcee and nods, "Arcee, it was nice seeing you again. I hope that the next time we meet it is in a more friendly environment like this one versus the battlefield." Arcee smiles and nods at the femme con as she and the director leave the room. Heatseeker asks a few more questions that she records in her data pad as the two make their way down to the lobby where Sunstorm is waiting impatiently for her.

The two femmes enter the lobby and Heatseeker stops by a chair in the waiting area. "Director, it was a pleasure. We thank you for your hospitality and willingness to show us around your facility." Heatseeker shakes the Director's hand as the two femmes bid farewell to one another. Sunstorm glares at her from her right. She ignores him until they exit the building.

"So, did you get your aft beat by some pretty swift younger models, Sunstorm. You look you're about to start radiating the area." She laughs as he does almost seem to start glowing. Instead he growls.

"No, but if I don't have to deal with any brats like that in this lifetime, I'll be grateful."

"Hmm. so the next time you fragging irritate me, I know what to do. Leave your aft here, unarmed." She smiles smugly at him.

He glares hatefully at her, only silence radiating from him now. "Remember what I said. You're gonna burn one of these days."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lets get a move on. I think both of us have some aft slagging to do." She's about two astroseconds from throwing a knife into his helmet if he pushes her anymore.

The two transform and fly out to where they know the rest are. They're both ready for a little anger management right now. Even if that anger management means getting their afts beat too.

--------------------------------

Sunstorm leads the way as they head to where they know the action is. Heatseeker scans the area for the rest of the seekers, finding them smack dab in the middle of what looks like a rumble. Sunstorm circles around but some activity to the left of the fight below catches Heatseeker's attention. Seeing three Autobots sneaking up behind Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp she decides to land a bit early. None of the three Decepticons on the ground see what is going on behind them as all of them are busy fighting. Heatseeker radios Sunstorm, telling him what is about to happen.

The red femme gains speed, diving to the bare spot of ground behind her three wing mates. She transformers effortlessly in the air, pulling her jet in distress move, landing on both feet. She draws several knives out almost immediately upon touching ground, arms wide and hands outstretched and lets out a resounding "NO!" She throws the knives at the attackers, not to stop them but to buy time. Everyone seems to pause at the volume of her command and the wickness of her attack on the three Autobots. She throws the knives which he had slipped between her fingers and now with swords out, she rushes forward, almost as if working on pure momentum and core programming rather than anything else.

The red femme furiously cuts down two of the Autobots and tangles with the third. Much larger than her and definitely stronger, the bigger mech puts up quite a fight. Heatseeker breaks loose as the mech grabs the sword in her right hand, grinning wickedly at her, the mech stands up preparing for a second attack. Still holding the sword in her left hand, her right arm changes into her cannon as she fires point blank at the mech. Barely giving her cannon time to charge up, she knows the blast will only render him incapacitated for a few breems. She walks over to him and plucks her sword out of his hand, "Thats mine you bastard." She lands a swift kick in his side before turning back to the others.

Whether seeing a femme take on three mechs and win or having dealt with three angry Seekers, the Autobots Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp had been wrestling with only a moment before are no where to be seen. Heatseeker stalks over to the three, her swords sheathed and a data pad in her hand. She stops beside Starscream, handing him the pad as she rubs the back of her neck with her empty hand, "here, all the info you wanted is on there."

Starscream says nothing as he places the data pad in his subspace. Heatseeker rubs her forehead and glances up at Skywarp., sighing tiredly as she does so, "Told you I had your back." Skywarp looks away as Thundercracker smirks slightly and Heatseeker glances over to the Autobot she had stunned only shortly before. The 'bot was still down and she was grateful. The red femme looks to Starscream and takes notice of the pained wince that he makes. She looks him over and sees a large deep gash on his back. Energon is slowly leaking from the wound. In a flash of an astrosecond, worry fills her optics, "Primus, Screamer. What the frag?" She places a hand over the wound. It does nothing. "You need to get back and get this fixed."

"I'll be fine." He growls between waves of pain.

Heatseeker scowls at the other three seekers as she pushes Starscream back, speaking lowly to him as to not embarrass him. Her voice is sweet but firm, "No your not. You can't see what I see. You need to get back and let me fix this."

Through gritted teeth he repeats his statement, "I'll be fine."

She looks up exasperated and inhales deeply through her intakes, "Listen you stubborn, slag headed aft. No you won't. Quit defying me or I'll laze your aft and you can fret about it in a comatose state. You need to get this fixed. NOW. No questions. Am I clear?"

Her sudden commanding attitude sort of snaps him out of it as he looks down at her and grins, "So now you're giving the orders?"

"Yep. And you'll listen if you know whats good for you."

"What if I want my aft to get lazed?"

"Well, you're well on the way to finding out if that 'what if' will happen and if not, well it won't matter. You'll be in stasis lock. Now move pretty boy or else."

Starscream motions for the rest of them to follow as he transforms and takes off for the base. Heatseeker is the last to leave. For one breem today, she had silence.

-----------------------------

"Sit still. Sit.. Primus! Am I this much of a ninny when I'm injured?" She's loosing her patience with him. He never takes the really severe hits well. Whether he fears for his health of it's just a case of him worrying that he won't be so pretty when the wound heals, she'll never know but if he doesn't sit still she's gonna give him another armor altering wound. "Starscream," She swats him on the back of his helmet, "Stop it. You're worse than those damned Sparklings you sent me after today."

"Well, it tickles and it hurts." He whines to her.

"You'll get over it. I did and I'm a femme. The weaker one. Remember? Now quit your crying and take it like a mech."

He groans in pain as she welds the spot back up. "There. Finished. That wasn't so bad was it, cry-sparkling?" She rubs the sensitive spot causing him to arch his back at the sensation.

"Aye. That's tender." He grimaces at the pain as she rubs it again. She does so one more time but uses only one finger and touching lightly.

"Better?" She smiles behind him.

"Yesssss.." He closes his optics for a moment as she traces her finger down the scar.

She whispers sing-song and softly into his audio receptors, "I can make the pain go away..."

"Mmmm. please do." He doesn't sound so whiny now.

Heatseeker trails a finger across the top edge of his wing, a spot where sensors are numerous and sensitive. He closes his optics for a moment as she walks around to the front of him, her optics half open and a wicked smirk on her lip components she touches his face with her other hand allowing one finger to trace the outline of his lips as nuzzles his neck. She leans up, whispering into his audio receptors, "Feeling better yet?" She runs her hands slowly down the front of him, applying just enough pressure to be on the aggressive side of relaxing. He lets out a breathy, "Yes." To which she adds an equally breathy and sinister, "good."

She continues to slowly trace the lines of his frame. He's sitting on a table in his quarters and she's standing between his knees, both of her hands seeming to be on an exploration quest of their own, she noses up to him. Barely a breath's distance from his face. He can't decipher the look in her eyes right now, but all he knows is that he's about 1 breem away from tearing the armor off of the femme's frame and attacking her in ways that'll have her begging for mercy or calling out to Primus, whatever comes out of her vocal processors first and loudest. She hasn't been like this in a while and he's definitely enjoying the change.

Heatseeker's smile grows as she leans in pressing her lip components against his. Metal against metal does not give unless you've got dampners to back it up, Heatseeker does and damn is it a nice sensation. He hears a small ping and looks down, following the sound and seeing that Heatseeker has popped open the cover to_ that _compartment. _That_ meaning the area where her interface connector is. A soft whir and some of her armor moves aside allowing him to touch areas that are sensitive enough to drive her processors to freeze in override.

Starscream lets out a low and long, "Whoa." before looking back up and meeting the optics of a femme who means business. He gives her a sidelong look as he asks, "This has nothing to do with the sparklings does it?"

The red femme's lip curls up a bit into a grimace at the thought and she shakes her head back and forth, "Absolutely not. This has everything to do with you and only you." He looks down shocked again at hearing yet another ping, only this one is coming from him! The wired and charged femme has managed to undo the compartment cover to his own interface cable.

"Okay. Good." He nods willingly as she leans down and drags him with her down to the floor.

"Primus, this is going to be an interesting night."

"Screamer, shut up." She moans as she pulls him closer to her.

Good thing he keeps his door locked. Optics rolling up in ecstacy, the sounds of their "connecting", the two spend what seems to be the majority of the night locked up in that room. The scene unfolding on the floor of his quarters could leave a few of their fellow mechs psychologically damaged for vorns to come.

-----------------------------

A/N: Is it wrong to admit that I really wanted to elaborate further on the last part of the chapter? Lol.


	14. Killing for Stress Relief

A/N: I read War Within again the other day which put me on a Grimlock kick. So he has a small cameo here. This chapter is a leading chapter, I'm trying to build it up 'cause it just doesn't seem that action packed to me. It'll pick up. I have a plan and an end in mind for this volume of the story. It's a quicky chapter. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Grimlock. 

If any mech on Cybertron was confused about his place in this war, it was that mech. Heatseeker had the femme part covered, that is why she was watching him. They had that and only that in common. He probably knew she was there but she didn't care as the red femme hid in the shadows and dark alleys of Kaon, watching the hulking Grimlock make his way to whatever duty it was he felt he needed to partake in this unusually quiet day.

She waited, watched him talk to another mech and move on when she had no choice in her hiding but to step out of the shadows and into the light. It was only a short moment before she realized what she had done, she heard him. His back turned to her, she had no idea how he saw her back there. She only froze in place as the large and awfully strong mech said her name.

"Heatseeker. Me know you back there."

She silently slipped back into the shadows, not answering him.

"You reek of Starscream. You both sniveling cowards. You hide. Show yourself."

If her optics could create lasers that could pierce his armor with a single look, the look on her faceplates right now is one that would do exactly that. _Sniveling coward my aft._ Her temper officially stoked, she steps out of the shadows, drawing both of her swords and still giving him an armor piercing glare.

He eyes her swords and shakes his head in disappointment at her sudden "bravery", knowing they will do him no harm. While Starscream and he had fought many times, usually with Starscream getting his aft handed to him, Heatseeker avoided him as much as she could. She succeeded, having never fought the larger, imposing mech usually because she would conveniently find somewhere else to be or someone else she claimed was a more "desirable" fight for her. That still won't stop her from showing how much of a coward she isn't. "Maybe me wrong about you. Maybe you not coward. Maybe you just stupid."

Heatseeker, spins one of her swords, smirking at him, then stops. She sheathes them both and places her hands by her sides. She knows fighting him will only lead to a very painful death or disfigurement, neither of which she has a taste for being the victim of right now. She has no quarrel with him. The troubled femme just followed him because, like her, he too is conflicted. She won't admit it though. Not here. Not in the crowning city of their faction. Then again, she's not _really_ sure why she did follow him. Boredom? Curiosity? She stands back and studies him carefully before placing her hands behind her in an act of submission. Starscream taught her well, know when to fight and when to submit. You'll live on to reach whatever goal it is you have set for yourself. Sometimes kissing a little aft is akin to taking the first breath of the rest of your life.

"I'm not here to fight you, Grimlock." She said as calmly as she could possibly muster.

"What you want then?" He doesn't trust her. Never could, never will. His former fighting comrade's shadow, she was too much like him. Every move was to further her own agenda. Only what could she possibly want with him? Here and now?

"You switched. Why?"

"What difference it make to you?"

"I'm just curious, humor me will you?" She crosses her arms stubbornly across her chest.

"I no need tell you anything."

She walks towards him, a sudden case of bravery over coming her, hands out at her side and a smirk on her face, that distinctive air of cockiness about her. "Come on..." She just gets too close as his strong hand reaches out and grabs her by her throat and lifts her off of the ground, "You go away. Or me show you how much me no like your type."

The small femme struggles to be free, clutching at his hand, he drops her, shaking his head in disappointment at her again as she lands on her aft.

"That has been happening way too much lately." She mumbles quietly to herself.

"Go back to your master. Before you get hurt."

_So much for that._ Embarrassed, she has only two choices, push Grimlock and get slagged or leave. Just now she's in the mood for some pit raising. Heatseeker stands up and glares at Grimlock. Standing as tall as she is able to next to the larger mech, she tilts her chin up as proudly as she can, " Sometimes it pays to have friends on both sides, _Grimmy_." She smiles sarcastically at him as she accentuates her nickname for him, one that he always loathed.

Grimlock lunges at her as she backs up swiftly, just a second too fast for him and takes off skyward. She may be a coward in his optics, but she's a coward that will indeed live on to fight a more even fight.

--------------------------------------

"Where were you?"

"No where." Heatseeker answers flatly as she sits down on a bench, her optics dark and her mouth set in a grimace. She pulls a finger like object out of a subspace and begins to sharpen one of her knives.

She's hiding something. The femme looks troubled and annoyed as well as slightly distant. Starscream figures whatever it was she was up to, didn't turn out as planned.

"I need to kill something now." She says, looking down at the floor the anger practically steaming off of her as she scrapes the edge of the blade harder against the sharpener.

"Is that so?" Now he's really curious as to what has gotten into her but his current work has him too busy to break away. He walks over to where she sits, placing a hand under her chin and tilting her face up to look at him, she definitely looks as if she's seen better solar cycles. Her jaw is set and her optics look dull as she gives him a lifeless stare, right now she's ripe for battle. "Here." He hands her a data pad, a slight smirk on his face as always. "If you're so ready to create havoc, go help Skywarp and Thundercracker"

_Now this has the promise of being interesting. Getting to sabotage a security station and take stuff. Revenge mission. Fun..._ Right now that ingrained need to seek revenge has taken over her. Heatseeker stands up and hands him his data pad back firmly, giving him a dark grin as she does so muttering a gravelly, "Gladly." as she walks out, spinning the knife in her hand.

-----------------------------------

Seeing the near psychotic look on her face, Thundercracker leans down to her audio receptor and says just loud enough for her to hear ,"You know you love the thrill of the kill. It's what keeps you grounded."

She turns in his direction, giving him the same flat stare she had given Starscream earlier only now laced with a dangerous smile. "Just show me where." She rolls one of her knives over her fingers and back again as she contemplates what she's about to do. The blade dancing a sweet ballet over her fingers, not leaving so much as a small scratch on their surface. She sees movement down below. Ambush time.

Skywarp moves forward but is stopped by Thundercracker. "Wait 'Warp. Let her take the first one." Skywarp looks at him curiously, still wondering what had or has or still is happening between his best friend and Starscream's toy since they seem to have come to some unspoken understanding as of late.

Seeing the odd look the black an purple mech is giving her, she can't help but wish she had Skywarp's element of surprise, all she can do is improvise her own as she counts the steps of the two mechs below. She unsheathes her two swords and holds them back, close to her body as she jumps down from the ledge. She lands quietly but not silently between the two, having made just enough noise to gain their attention, they turn around hastily, weapons drawn. Before a scream can escape their vocal circuits, they are run through with her swords. She delivers two swift strikes from throat to waist and back to both mechs. She looks up at the ledge where Thundercracker and Skywarp wait as she approaches the door entering in the security code she had watched one of the now dead guards enter in only moments before. Both mechs leap down to where the bodies of the two guards lie at the feet of a still angry looking Heatseeker. Both study the bodies beneath them.

"Nice, work." Thundercracker says, staring at the two offlined bots. Both killed with near surgical precision.

"Thanks, I try." She says as she enters in the last number and the door opens. She turns back to one of the dead guards and takes a sword to his head, decapitating it in one pass and picks the head up holding it next to her. Pulling a small power generator from her subspace she shoves the small sphere into a tiny void in the decapitated head in her hand, illuminating his now lifeless optics in a dull amber color.

"Trophy?" Skywarp asks sarcastically, feeling a littlle creeped out by her behavior.

"No. Optical scanners. They'll have them further in. This guard should have level 3 access. That's just more than general. We may need him." Skywarp curls his upper lip component at her as she smiles at the head in her hand. She raises it up and turns it in his direction,"Here, say hello." She shoves the offending object in his face to which he swats it away and grimaces at her as he follows Thundercracker.

"You have issues, femme." He says sourly at her.

_Tell me something I don't know already._ She swings the head back and forth beside her, just to mess with him a bit more, as they proceed further into the tunnel leading down to the security station. She follows behind Thundercracker and Skywarp, checking their rear for any approaching visitors as they round a corner to the door. Sure enough, there is a keypad and an optic scanner. Heatseeker pushes past the two taller seekers and punches a code into the pad. "Prepare for scan." a voice says from the scanner next to the pad. She holds the severed head up to the scanner as beams shoot out and read it's optics. The beams retract and they wait for the reading process to complete. "Access Granted." Heatseeker turns around and smiles proudly at the two before taking up her place behind them again.

"So how exactly did you know that?" Skywarp and she may be getting along a bit better these days but he still does his best to challenge her. Old habits die hard plus her knowledge of the security protocols in this building is a bit suspicious to him.

"Remember, my job isn't _just_ playing lacky for you guys, I also get the wonderful job of playing lacky for the ever so friendly Soundwave and his intel gathering obsession." She checks behind them again, before turning back with a sly grin on her face. "That means, I get to know exactly where and how to enter into somewhere, nearly undetected."

"Nice. You two, lets go." Thundercracker wants to get what they came for and get the pit out of here. It's a risky job, breaking into a security station who's only purpose is to cover for intelligence operations for the Autobots. Megatron wants to know the locations of all the detention facilities on Cybertron and all of it's territories. There are comrades to be freed who will again fight beside them. Both he and Skywarp were completely capable of handling the task on their own, but Starscream's message said that Heatseeker was feeling unusually homicidal today and that her sword skill would help, considering a grand announcement of their presence and intentions was not needed.

The pass into another passageway, this one lined with doors. She stops, looks back at where they entered and counts the doors along the left side of the hall. Three. They are three doors down from their entryway into this area. They need to go four up past a long section of corridor without doors before they reach the room they need. It's a long trek to them, a short walk to the enemy. Having only one weak gun she tosses the head to Skywarp, here take it. I'm gonna need both hands."

He reluctantly takes the head as she pulls out both swords and edges along the wall. "Look, I need to do this. Stay back, I'll call when it's clear." Neither mech tries to stop her, it's too interesting watching her go commando for once. Thundercracker and she have spoken a lot over the last few decacyles and he has to admit, he's surprised at her sudden "go get 'em" attitude. He's curious as to what brought it on, but more curious in seeing how far she'll let it take her.

Skywarp breaks up his train of thought, "Okay, what if _I_ wanted to do some damage?"

Thundercracker turns to him and grins, "We still have to get out of here. Who cares once we've got what we need. Let her play. Plus, you have to admit, its entertaining."

"More like scary. I think her logic circuits have finally crossed themselves and begun to short." the black mech looks at the head in his hand, "Why am I still carrying this while she's off having fun?"

""Warp, chill." Usually Sywarp can keep his cool but today he's just whiny. Thundercracker wonders if somehow Skywarp and Heatseeker traded spots. While she's not whiny, she still has the capacity for it. The energon cube doesn't fall far from it's source. Around the bend and out of sight, they hear two more swipes of metal on metal, a pained grunt of a falling mech and the hiss of a femme on a silent rampage. Just a few nanokliks pass before Heatseeker comes walking back, seeming to be in a good mood even though she has a uniform spray of spilt energon across the front of her body and her face.

"It's clear, come on." The energon splattered red femme holds her hand out for the head and Skywarp tosses it to her. She catches it carefully ensuring that the generator stays inside of it. The three proceed onto the 7th door, Heatseeker leading them there. She holds her hand over the key pad and turns back to them both, "It's all you guys from here out. I'm done stealing all the fun." She punches the code in and again holds the head up to be scanned. The door opens and Thundercracker an Skywarp walk in before her, taking out all three occupants inside of the room.

Heatseeker sits down at one of the stations and types in commands that she has memorized. Waiting for her request to load, she extracts a small chip from a compartment in her wrist and places it in the receptacle on the work station. She stares up at the monitors as all the data she wants is downloaded into the chip. It completes and she ejects it, placing the chip back into the compartment just as an alarm goes off.

"Time to go!" Thundercracker says as the alarm rings a second time.

Skywarp points a gun at the computer station and she blocks him. "Leave it. Let's go!" and pushes him out ahead of her. All three rush down the hall, to far inside to blast their way out. Two Autobot guards intercept them as they pass the fourth door, Thundercracker and Skywarp lay waste to them swiftly. Just as all three reach the door back to where they entered, she hits a button on the small generator she had originally put in the dead guards head. She tosses the generator behind her as they take off still inside, close enough to the surface to blast they're way out through the last doorway. Behind them a small explosion goes off, collapsing the doorway.

They don't stop until they reach the safety of the Decepticon base well inside of Kaon. Heatseeker stops before entering to savor the thrill of the mission. Thundercracker, seeing her pause, turns back to get her to move. "You're killing my moment, T.C."

He snickers at her as he watches her face calm down from excited rush to pleased calm, "See, I told you it's the thrill of the kill that keeps you grounded. It's what you love about it all. Even though you want to find a grander purpose, you're really no different than the rest of us."

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye and then down as she extracts the chip from her wrist, clutching it in her palm. "I know, I'm not. Thats what frightens me." She gives him a weak smile as she looks back up and the two walk inside.


	15. The worst day EVER

A/N: Warning: long read ahead, some OOC Skywarp and Scrapper.

* * *

Maybe it was the look on her face that made him feel like pit. That look that said she already knew. How she possibly could, he didn't know, but Heatseeker sat in the same chair she always sat in in the mess. Her face showed the contemplative yet empty stare that she only had when something was weighing heavily on her conscious. The only difference was, this time, when he walked in the room, as rare as that was, she looked up at him with a pair of dim optics that asked questions instead of making statements. Starscream didn't walk over to the bar to grab a drink, he instead walked directly to where she sat, trying his damnedest not to allow what he was thinking to be too obvious to everyone else. 

Reaching her chair, same expression still on Heatseeker's silver face that she had when he walked , he leaned down and only said "follow me," to her. She nodded respectfully and got up from her chair, not speaking as silence was a language right now that they chose to communicate in.

As he lead her out of the room and down the countless passageways that linked section to section within the massive base well within Kaon, a spark of life seemed to momentarily leap back into the red femme as she finally spoke up, her voice sounding small and somewhat scared. A sound that he did not like associating with the usually stoic femme. "Where are we going?" she asked in a manner that almost reminded the air commander of something a small sparkling may ask.

"Not here." He answerer sharply. Shaking his head and pausing for only a astro-second he looked down at her adding a bit to soften the sharpness of his previous response, "somewhere were we can talk and not be bothered."

Staring at the gray walls that lined the passageway as if she had never before noticed them, her voice trailing off, her head bobbed lightly up and down in a half sparked nod. "Makes sense." She mumbled.

Immediately upon reaching the main doors she paused and looked up at the sky. It was one of the rare moments anymore in which the sky wasn't cloaked under the heavy cover of the acrid smoke of death and destruction. The light of the binary star that their planet orbited radiating warmth into all it could reach. The purple hue of the mid day sky reflected on her silver face as she turned her attention to the second star, the main star of this solar system, she sighed and pursed her lip components, a dark cast crossing her morose face regardless of the light that reflected of off it.

She turned back to him, trying to manage a smile but failing, she followed suit as he transformed and took to the skies. They didn't fly far. Only so far as to have some privacy. How would he approach it all? He could barely understand why such a decision would be made. What sort of justification there could possibly be for it?

"So you know why we're out here?" He said, it was really the only way he felt he could start the conversation. He sat on a flat area under an overhang of a fallen floor of the collapsed building.

"Yep." her face still looked laden with the bad news even though she still tried to fight her grimace off with feigned interest.

"How did you find out?" He was curious about this.

"I was being nosy. I over heard the two personalities talking about it while they thought I was deeply immersed in my work." This time she manages a small grin, just enough to seem not to be the walking dead she had resembled for the last cycle.

Starscream snorted at her reference to Soundwave and Shockwave as the "two personalities." Her sarcasm was very fitting considering that the two mechs appeared to be completely lacking the necessary programming for personalities. He rubbed her arm as she leaned up against an overhanging ledge above where they sat on an abandoned roof top.

Her smile faded as she watched the suns again. "I don't understand it though, Screamer. Why? We, the femme's, we haven't done anything that would warrant such a decree. I can't imagine this going over well within the ranks," she said sourly. "Primus knows the Autobots are going to freak, pit, the civilians are going to panic. Why us? Why?" She cried out and slammed a fist against the wall upon which she sat small sections of rusted or singed edges crumbling down.

"I don't know, 'Heat. I don't. It doesn't make sense. We weren't allowed to ask questions just listen. But he hasn't officially said to do it. It's just an idea."

"That still doesn't make it any better." She frowns and looks down, the gray cast on her silver face growing darker and darker with each passing moment. "All it'll take is one thing to set it all off. One mistake and kehk." She draws her hand across her throat mimicking the motion of having ones head chopped off.

"Well all we can do is hope that doesn't happen." He knows just as well as she does that they odds of that not happening are slim. Megatron can be so impulsive with decisions the tyrant could very well be back at the base deciding to put the decree into action as they speak.

"Great. So now all I can do is sit, wait and hope for the best." She rolls her optics and shakes her head. "Just when I thought things were getting better. Frag!"

"Relax." He tells her calmly.

She gives him a side long glare, "Easy for you to say, Mech. You're not going to have to come up with a plan to escape over the next deca-cycle."

Starscream stands up and moves away from the wall to stand directly in front of her. Placing one hand on her shoulder he tells her reassuringly, "I'll find a way to get you out of here at least until it's safe."

She's amused by this promise of his. Dropping her arms by her side, she tilts her head up and studies his face, looking for the truth in his optics. He seems to mean what he says. She doesn't usually worry about Starscream's agenda, but lately, it seems to be getting more and more secretive and shifty. She figures it's only a matter of time before it begins to adversely affect her but she hopes that time is still far in the future from the present. "Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"Okay. I'll take that." Standing up, she looks around at everything wondering how much longer she has to see it. How much longer it'll all be like this. And how much longer she'll be willing to do her job in the hope that good work performance won't be the trigger that ends everything femme oriented on Cybertron. "Do you have any idea how difficult it's going to be to go back to work after hearing this sort of news?"

"Look. It may not happen."

"I know, Screamer. But having it in the back of my head, you know, that I may become slag sooner than I had hoped, doesn't make me exactly motivated to do my job." She raises her hands up in the air from the frustration. Her shoulders and head dropping as she lowers her arms. The signs of defeat written all over her again.

"You've been doing great. Just continue to do so... for me." This time he rests his hands on both of her shoulders. A gesture which does seem to warm her up some, a small smile crossing her lip components again.

"Only for you." She smiles slightly and leans forward giving him a hug.

"Good. Come on, lets go." He lowers his arms and steps back from her.

"You go. I'm gonna enjoy this day a little longer before I can't anymore."

"Pit, femme. You are so morose. Fine. I'll see you in a while then."

"Yep." She raises her right hand up in a mock salute to him as he turns around and takes off into the purple sky. Heatseeker leans back against the wall again and thinks silently to herself for a few breems before taking off to flight herself. Unlike Starscream, she doesn't return to the base. She needs to talk to someone else about this. She heads in the opposite direction he had taken only breems earlier. She heads in an indirect path towards Iacon. In search of the only other femme she knows she can talk to.

* * *

"I'm not joking!" The larger red femme pleads with the small pink bot before her. 

"Why? Why would he say that?" Arcee sits on the platform, her arms crossed and her knees drawn up to her chin, giving her a glare that could cut metal.

"I don' know. It's not definite, just an idea according to Starscream."

"Starscream?!" Arcee looks up and laughs and glances up at the sky before looking back down and leveling her optics on Heatseeker. "Why for the love of Primus, would we ever want to believe anything that he says? All he's ever done is lie, cheat...h-h-he's the epitome of deception. I really think the council had him in mind when they came up with that name, Decepticon."

Heatseeker looks around frustrated from side to side before sitting down next to Arcee. Wiping both hands down her face, then resting her chin in her thumbs. "He doesn't lie with me. At least up until now he never has."

"Really?" Arcee questions her in a disbelieving tone. "And why would he not do so to you? His record says otherwise."

Now slightly angered, Heatseeker snaps back at Arcee, "Well, does this record you talk about mention anything about me? I guarantee that I've been standing by his side , loyally, for a frag of a lot longer than that record has even been in existence. I've been there with him since before this war. Since before Megatron even found out that the mine was going to be shut down. Before _any_ of this began." Her anger boiling inside of her with each tick of her internal chronometer she continues on, Arcee staring at her in disbelief. "I'm more than his damned student or even subordinate, alright? That lying, cheating, epitome of deception, "She mimics Arcee's higher voice and flicks her fingers in the air trying to mimic the pink femme's slight more girlie characteristics, "created my aft to be his partner and companion back when we were _civilians_. Maybe I'm blind or maybe just stupid, but I've spent the last 3 million meta-cycles of my_ life_, by his side. Try to show me someone who knows him better than I possibly could."

Arcee stares at her in silent disbelief unsure whether to walk away from this farce or let Heatseeker continue on. She decides to let the larger, now angered seeker finish what she is saying.

"I came to you because I want you to be prepared. I shouldn't, but I actually like you Arcee." Heatseeker leans back and laughs in disbelief at herself. "Ha. You know, just this morning I was thinking about how much better things were getting for me. I was regretting ever giving you and the Autobots any info and I was really regretting ever thinking about leaving the Decepticons. Now... damn it."

"Alright. Alright. Chill. Damn, I believe you okay?" Arcee tries to think of where to go now. "So do you two... I mean are you...? Oh pit. Heh." Arcee's face twists up and she shifts her feet in obvious discomfort at her own question.

"Are you asking the nature of our relationship?" Heatseeker asks tiredly as she rubs the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah. I guess so." Arcee says uncomfortably from beside her.

"Well," Heatseeker looks over at Arcee's face, using the slight pause to read the femme, seeing what she may be thinking. Chuckling softly to herself she rests her hands in her lap, "It's what you think. Alright? Because of that, I get the privilege of knowing a different side of him."

"Oh," Arcee nods slowly, "Wait, how did you know what I..."

Heatseeker cuts her off, tapping her own head with an index finger, "Mild telepath. I just read your emotional signature and saw how curious you were. Sorry. Don't worry. I can't read your thoughts, only your emotions."

"Weird."

"Yep. So look, I have to get going. Just remember what I said okay?" Heatseeker gets up slowly and walks out into the open turning around at the sound of Arcee's voice.

"Sure thing. Hey, Heatseeker, sure you don't wanna come over to us?" Arcee shoots the red femme a devilish grin. She never cared for a single Decepticon but for some reason, call it femme intuition, Heatseeker seems to be the only exception to that hatred she's ever had. There was just something about the femme seeker than she found interesting enough to slightly trust her and possibly like her. Maybe in another time and not during war, they could have found themselves as friends.

"Maybe, 'Cee. Maybe. Pit, that could happen a lot sooner than you'd think. If this happens, we're getting the hell out of here 'cause it's gonna be ugly."

Arcee gives her a small wave before transforming and tearing off at a speed that impresses a seeker who is capable of flying faster than the speed of sound. Heatseeker spends her flight back just enjoying the chance to fly on a clear day, buzzing heads whenever possible and just being a devil in the sky.

* * *

Heatseeker sat in her chair in the comm's room staring at the monitor in disbelief. Only a moment before Soundwave had entered the room alone and begun what she had thought was a compliment. 

"You've done very well, Heatseeker." The blue mech said while holding the small chip containing the info she had taken from the Autobot computers only metacycles before.

"Really?" She asked unsure of why he would suddenly compliment her, aloud none the less.

"Yes. This information is extremely useful." The cold, emotionless, shielded face said aloud.

"Um, thanks," She responded, unsure of where this was going.

His next comment was not spoken aloud but telepathically, to which she was more used to speaking to him through. "Unfortunately, you haven't done well enough to save yourself."

She raised her head up to his last comment, then turned her chair violently around to face him. He ignored her and sat down at his own station. "I know." was all that he added.

"Know what?" She asked in an accusatory tone.

"About your treachory." His voice said flatly in her mind.

"What?!" She was truly surprised at what he had just said.

"Don't act surprised. All of the info you've shared with the Autobot Arcee, what you told them when you were captured... all of it. I know."

"Well, I think you've got your secrets crossed, Soundwave, because I have done no such things." She lies. She knows that if he has somehow managed to read her without her defenses up, she is indeed screwed.

"You are." This time Soundwave looks up from his work, directly at her. "I do know. I did read you and no amount of defenses will help. Once I'm in, I'm..."

"...In for good." she finished his sentence. Once you let a telepath in, they have access forever or at least until there is a major rewrite or rebuild to your processors. That is the moment she remembers it all. The day she came back injured from the strike of that Autobot WIngnut. Soundwave helped her back, that must've been when he gained access. Heatseeker closes her optics in disgust as his voice invades her mind again.

"Yes, ever since then."

She is fragged and she knows it. But she can't admit defeat and stays at her station performing her job. Soundwave is called out of the Comm's room and she continues her work, pushing her harsh reality aside. Giving up, after a groon. She leaves to retire to her quarters, praying that that wretched Soundwave only intends to use his info for his own good and nothing more. Her recharge that night is full of nightmares of torture.

* * *

She awakens to find Starscream sitting in a chair in the quarters, looking unusually beaten. Sitting up by swinging her legs over the edge of the recharge bed, she rubs her face and speaks up, her vocal circuits sounding rough from lack of use, "you look like you've seen better days." She gives him a lopsided grin as he turns towards her. Standing up he walks over to where she sits and rests his head on her shoulder. A gesture that leaves her surprised and worried all at once. 

"It's happening isn't it?" Her voice breaks over her circuits, sounding ragged and squeaky. A muffled "yes" comes out of him. He feels her body weaken below him as she raises her arms up, resting her hands on his arms. Her grip that of someone begging to be saved from imminent death. "Primus." She whispers.

He stands back and hands her a small sheath of light conductive material in which a time and place are printed upon. "Be here at this time. I have a way of getting you out of here."

Heatseeker looks down at the small, flexible piece of material in her hand and studies what is written on it. "How?"

"Astrotrain." Starscream leans back and laughs, running his hand over his helmet, "Can you believe it? Turns out he wasn't too happy about it either. This affects everyone. Be sure to be there." He pinches the edge of the material.

Heatseeker's optics are full of sadness as she studies the writing, recognizing the location as a place the two of them used to frequent when they were still civilians. She wonders if it is still intact or wrecked like the rest of that area. She raises her arms up and wraps them around him as she starts to sob. He remains still and holds her quietly as rhythmic sobs escape from her.

* * *

Heatseeker looks down at the small material, no larger than her two fingers, laying in her palm. She closes her palm around them and stares up at the structure before her. She remembers this place well and is shocked to see that amongst all the crumbling ruins of Iacon, this lone temple like building remains, barely unscathed. Walking up to the door she tries the handle, shocked to see that it is not locked but open. She slowly and gently turns her hand inside of the handle and waits on baited breath as the door swings open to the darkness inside. No problem, she thinks to herself remembering the layout and the beauty of the room within. 

She steps inside and the door closes softly behind her. The red femme can't help but look upwards at the beautiful ceiling. Above her is a vast black pallet, speckled here and there with a constellation of points of light in every color of the light spectrum. Flickering and flashing, a streak here a streak there, the ceiling is an ancient representation of the night sky. Not the night sky here on Cybertron, but on some other planet in some other solar system or possibly galaxy, far far from here. She smiles to herself in the darkness as she remembers the past. Remembers spending hours in here staring at those etheral ceiling in awe, waiting. Somewhere, towards the center of the room, is a statue if she remember correctly. A statue of a figure, something not Cybertronian, dancing in a ribbon of foreign cloth. She feels around for that statue and upon finding it, leans back against it's cold rock base. Rock, something not abundant on Cybertron.

Heatseeker sits, waiting for Starscream to arrive. She shuts her optics for only a breem when a slam at the front of the room catches her. She opens them slowly, staring into the dim light of the massive room, watching two dark shadows approach. Switching to her alternative viewing mode, she is surprised to see that the approaching silhouettes are those of Arcee and Mirage. Heatseeker jumps up form her seat and rushes towards them. Whispering loudly as she does so, "Arcee! What are you doing here?"

"We followed you." the pink femme says hoarsely, her hands out to stop the femme rushing towards her."What's going on, Heatseeker?" She asks suspiciously.

"The decree, it's been passed" Heatseeker sounds rushed and stressed as she rambles everything out at the two Autobots, "screw them. Look, that glitch Megatron wants all femmes capable of fighting, imprisoned or killed. That's it. Go to a detention facility or face death. I'm leaving. You have to come. I know him, he'll kill us all in the long run. Detention or not..."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Heatseeker wails in the silence and darkness. "Come with me or leave on your own. But tell the others."

"I can't believe your leaving, Heatseeker." Arcee says disappointedly from within the safety of the darkness.

"Arcee, I'm too close to the top. If not by rank, by, well, my... oh, you know." Heatseeker hears a small "um hm" come from Arcee. She ignores Arcee's reaction and continues, "I'm not ready to die. I need to come up with a plan but it's something there just isn't enough time for."

"This is madness," Arcee's voice calls out.

"Come with_ us_, Heatseeker." Mirage says from her right.

"They'll come searching. I can't. _We_ can't. We would need more time." She says feeling defeated again. No one will ever believe her. Just then a sharp pain enters her mind. A pain she is all too familiar with. "Primus." She groans as she falls down. "Run. They're coming. Go."She raises a hand up and pushes it forward as if pushing them away.

"Who?" Arcee asks accusingly from her left.

"Soundwave and I'm sure someone else. I can feel them searching for me." Heatseeker stands up and grabs both of their wrists, pulls herself up and drags them both towards the doors she knows are at the end of the room. "I don't want them to find you." She adds hastily, "They'll kill you if they do. Go. No matter what you hear, just go!" She yells as she tries the door. It's locked. Lowering her arm as her canon appears in the place of her hand, she fires a shot at the locking mechanism, shattering it and allowing the door to swing free. Using all of her might, she shoves the two smaller robots out of the door and into a long passageway. "Go! Don't turn back. Don't. Just go." She urges them. Heatseeker stands back as the door closes and fires a small laser from her other hand at it, welding it shut. "May Primus protect you." She whispers as she slinks into the darkness. She hears the doors to the large room slam open. No announcement is needed. She can feel their presence.

_Why_, she asks no one except maybe Primus. _Why?_ A searing pain tears through her head bringing her to her knees. _So this is how it ends..._

* * *

She is almost ashamed to admit what she is doing. For the first time in her existence, she's hiding. She can't recall ever feeling the fear that she is feeling right now. She knows that it's going to be more than just one of them. She remembers hearing what they did in the city of Ias back in the beginning of the war. They brutally tortured and killed every living being in the city. They left one to tell the story so that others would know what they were capable of. She hadn't been there for that battle. Luckily she had been sent on another mission but she had nightmare driven recharges after Starscream had told her of what they had done. She had a feeling that she was about to experience what the residents of that city had ages ago. _Primus, what did I do to deserve this preferential treatment?,_ she moans within her own mind._ I'm an example of what _**not**_ to do_, she tells herself. She would like to say what followed, she expected but it was the level of pain induced that she did not. 

As a searing pain threatened to either melt every processor in her head or kill her, she cried out from it's crippling grasp. Hugging her face to her knees and sobbing at the telepathic offensive that was thrust upon her, she barely felt the strong hand clamp down on her helmet. Grasping the gap by her neck in the back, the hand grabbed strongly and pulled her from the darkness and into the now well lit room. Her cries of pain only met with sick laughter at the site of her struggle. She doesn't kick or scream. She's numb from the psychic strike Soundwave just hit her with. Primus, can't help her now. She's purchased a ticket to pit and it's going to be a long and bumpy ride.

"I don't think we need to explain why we're here and you're in this most unfortunate position do we, Heatseeker?" Recognizing that distinctive voice, she looks up slowly and sees her worst nightmare standing before her. She didn't expect Megatron to come to this party. She doesn't answer him, she just gives him the most hateful look she can muster in her numb state. He laughs that grating, evil cackle that she cringes at every time she hears it. Soundwave walks over and stands at his side as always, just waiting for a chance to twist her logic circuits into an abstract sculpture, she is sure of it. Behind them stand Skywarp, Sunstorm, Ramjet and Scrapper. She doesn't see Starscream or Thundercracker which she figures, the former is being brought to the scene by the latter.

"Thundercracker did go to fetch Starscream, Heatseeker." Soundwave's normally monotone voice sounded almost entertained by the reaction of shock on her face.

Megatron smiled at her, "Starscream had another delusion of grandeur this evening that didn't go well for him and his punishment is he gets to watch yours. You should feel privileged. We're taking a few kliks out of our busy schedule to devote a few just to you before we carry on with our business. Pity you won't get to see the outcome."

_Privileged? Ha_. She's trying to will her circuits to shut themselves down but nothing is working. Soundwave hits her again. She curses at him in her mind. His response is just laughter. Grabbing her head as if trying to quell the storm that Soundwave had created inside of it, she stands up warily leaning against the statue behind her.

Megatron turns to Skywarp, motions towards the femme and adds flatly, "Put the restraints on her."

Her voice sounds slurred but angry as she growls at him, "Restraints? You're not even giving me a chance to fight back? " She wonders if she just lost her mind.

They laugh at her. Megatron still smiling, answers her, "No."

She looses all composure upon hearing his response and unleashes a tirade of swears at him that again only gets laughter in response.

"Well, at least your responses to your impeding doom are more creative than those of your creator." He steps aside turning to those standing behind him,"Go ahead, have some fun while we wait for that idiot Starscream."

Sunstorm steps forward with a demented grin on his face." Ohhhh, I've been waiting and savoring this moment for deca-cylces, glitch." He strikes her hard across the face twice. "Hurts doesn't it?" She just keeps her mouth closed and says nothing. She stares coldly into his optics as he strikes her again causing her vision to falter a bit. He runs a hand down her side, searching for something. He finds it and pulls out one of her knives. She looks up and concentrates on the ceiling of the room, knowing what is about to come next. He runs the knife along her cheek, down her neck, her arm and to the spot were she had been wounded by the Autobot. She knees him in the leg just enough to push him back, then lands a kick square in his chest plate. She smirks at him and starts cackling the laugh of a mad femme. "Enjoy it while it lasts you yellow bastard." She hisses at him. "You won't be able to kill me."

"Oh, I won't but someone will," He hisses back with equal fervor.

Megatron glances over to Soundwave and points at her. The pain begins again. She falls down on the floor. Sunstorm steps over her and kicks her square in the side. He leans down and flips her over onto her stomach. He reaches to below her wings and removes her two swords. Standing up, he tosses one to Skywarp gleefully yelling, "Souvenirs!" He happily swings it around and then stabs her in the back with it. She arches her back crying out and flips over trying to kick at him, missing as he backs up out of her reach.

Skywarp walks over and stands next to the yellow mech. "She doesn't look too good right now."

"Nope. That, she doesn't," Sunstorm adds through an evil grin and laughing down at her.

Skywarp walks over and helps Sunstorm lift her up. The purple and black mech leans down to her audio receptor and in a menacing voice, asks," Ready for some fun?" She turns towards him glaring. She sees the look in his optics, realizing what lies behind it and feels the contents of her reservoir try to make an exit. He just laughs at her discomfort. Skywarp looks over at Sunstorm and nods at him. Sunstorm lets go of her and walks away, swinging her sword in his hand joyfully. Skywarp stands in front of her, placing one hand around her neck and grabs her face with the other. He gives her a smile that she understands all too well. Her reservoir lurches. Just then she falls down and empties her reservoir of it's contents. He laughs at her, "that isn't going to save you." He turns to the others and just gives them a look that she doesn't see, but they all leave.

_Frag._ She's beyond slagged. Alone in a room with Skywarp. _This is not going to be good at all_. She squats down, ready to pounce, fists raised. She lets loose with one last tirade of swears on him which is answered with a strike to her left cheek and one of the most demented grins she's ever seen him make. Her world spins and then the nightmare really begins.

* * *

Starscream knew he was in for pit when he arrived to meet the others, unfortunately at the same time and place he had told Heatseeker to meet him for extraction. Megatron's boastful smile said it all. Primus, he wanted to wipe that smile off of his face. _It's funny how the very one you strive to become, becomes the same one you want to destroy, _he thinks to himself. He notices that something else must be abound by the smug grins of everyone around him. He has to admit, he's curious and nervous at the same time. Megatron walks over to him. 

"So, you arrogant fool. You thought you'd gotten rid of me _again_?" Megatron pointed his fusion cannon at him.

Time to make peace. "No, Megatron." He begged unmercifully, "I thought you'd been struck down in battle, I .." He was cut off by Megatron.

"Because you never wait around long enough to ensure that prey is dead you twit." Megatron is still pointing the cannon at him.

"Don't shoot me. It was a simple mistake on my behalf, my failure to pay attention to details. I swear I won't do it again" He's begging and hoping it works.

The others all rolled their optics. It's so like Starscream to back out of a fight when he knows he's on the loosing end.

Megatron walks over to the Air commander and instead of shooting him, puts his arm around the Seekers shoulders. This un-nerves Starscream and makes him more nervous than he was with the fusion cannon pointed at his face. "We have a surprise for you instead." He smiles at Starscream. Something is up and it isn't good whatever it is.

"A s-surprise?" He's curious but still worried.

"Yes, a bit of bad news really. As it turns out, Heatseeker has been hiding things from us." He still smiles, fangs bared.

"Hiding. What. Exactly?" He doesn't like the sounds of this, if they found out about his intentions to send her off to safety.

"Oh where do I start?" Megatron raises his hands in the air as if deciding the answer is as easy as pulling it out of thin air. Then he looks squarely at Starscream with a serious look that could cut through the strongest alloys. " Consorting with the enemy. Sharing intel and facts that she could only know from_ you_. And she's been contemplating siding with the Autobots." The leader stood back letting it all sink in.

Starscream stood silent a look of deep contemplation on his face."Please tell me this is a joke." Now he feels sick to _his_ reservoir. This was nothing like what he had expected to hear from Megatron.

"No. It is not a joke." Megatron was not smiling.

Starscream looked at the others. None of them were smiling either. "What kind of info? How... how long?"

"A little over one stellar cycle now. The night she came back injured from a fight with one of the autobots, she was weak. Soundwave helped her to her recharge bay. She was too weak to be aware of him accessing her mind. Once he gained that access she was as easy to read as an open datapad." Megatron watched the air commander sit down on a step in obvious shock. He had no idea. Megatron had thought that maybe he knew. "I'll leave you out here to think about it."

"Where is she?" Starscream's face looked emotionless.

"Inside with Skywarp." Megatron turned to walk inside not seeing the expression on Starscream's face but hearing the exasperated sigh that emanated from him.

* * *

Skywarp leaned down to her as she laid crumpled on the floor. Smirking at her, all he said was, "Spoils of war." The ultimate disrespect. She didn't look up, she didn't move, she didn't say a word. It wasn't over. She knew now what followed. A well deserved beating as Bonecrusher referred to it. It was a cycle she'd known of for years. Just something that they did. She didn't approve but she never said so. She just ignored it. Now it came back to bite her in the aft. 

Skywarp opened the doors and everyone but Soundwave came back in. Scrapper comes over to her and picks her up with one arm. The green mech takes one of the knives out of her armor on her arm and cuts her restraints. "It's more fun when you fight back." he says with in an overly friendly tone, then strikes her back down. She doesn't care to fight back. She knows she knows they won't stop until she's dead, an action which only works to enrage him more. He strikes her again only harder to which she still doesn't fight back. Aggravated, he picks her up and throws her. This is the action that snaps her out of it and wakes her up.

They may have taken her swords, but she still has a cannon and some knives. She swings around, her cannon ready on her arm and a wild glare in her optics as she lands a shot in his chest. Now she works off of basic instinct. He lunges at her but she moves aside and fires another round. Heatseeker starts to move to her left but is knocked to the ground by a head butt from Ramjet._ Where the pit did he come from?! Two on one, not fair._ She goes ballistic and pulls out a knife. As Ramjet approaches her again, she shoves it in his left optic, he falls to the ground in agony, causing her to actually smile for a second before Scrapper tackles her to the floor again.

"Stop!" They do. All three. Megatron has spoken. He walks over to where Scrapper has the Heatseeker pinned on the ground, she's trying to struggle but he's considerably stronger than her. Megatron leans down to her,"I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to stay and enjoy this get together, but I have business to attend to. I'm sure you understand. Oh, and Starscream will be in shortly I'm sure. He's outside trying to comprehend your treachery. " He stands up, pleased by the look of fear and worry that crosses her face. He laughs at her again,"I didn't realize that he knew absolutely nothing about what you've been up too. And I thought you two shared so much." He walks away and with new found energy she wriggles free of Scrapper long enough to fire a shot at Megatron, hitting him in the back. He stumbles slightly but turnes to Soundwave, "finish her. I want her unrecognizable and extremely dead." Soundwave nods in aknowlegment of this order.

Now she's worried. The end wasn't far away.

* * *

They had all but beat the life out of her. When he walked in it wasn't her state that left him in shock but how they had left her there, hanging by the restraints from the statue. Arms above her head, the restraints hung around something too high to see. She looked like a puppet on display as the one light in the room shown down upon her limp form hanging from the bronze colored statue. 

He never heard her cry out or yell in agony. He never realized how strong she really was until he saw her hanging there. All those mega-cycles of silence and she didn't even make a noise when death was approaching her. Then again, she was guilty and she knew it. She was well aware of what was happening to her. No matter how much it hurt to learn of what she'd done, that bastard Soundwave recounted everything to him about her actions after the others had went back in. To say he was angry was an understatement. But he couldn't help but feel pain and that there was some sort of explanation as he stared at her hanging there, looking so beaten. She was the last being he could ever trust and she destroyed it. He thought about all the time that had passed. He'd lost his closest friend, his mentor turned on him and took on an abusive air towards him and now Heatseeker. He had officially lost all faith in everyone. He knew that she didn't do it to him, personally, but her actions could only include that. And her entire reason for being here right now was so that he could save her from the horror that was about to befall all of the femmes. To turn on them, the Decepticons, all was to turn on him. He had finally reached his breaking point but that still didn't prepare him for what he saw when he had entered the room.

She was staring up at the ceiling when he approached her. He stood there in disgust, separating who she was and her current state from what she had become. A traitor. A traitor to them and a traitor to him. He felt as if she'd driven an ice cold sword through him. She still stared at the ceiling but now he heard a noise from her. Quiet crying, barely above a whisper. Her optics were soaked. She looked down, facing him and staring him dead in the eye. All he saw was sorrow but he still backed away. So angry, so full of hate. _How could she?_

Her cries built up to a small moan but he didn't go to her. Instead he shook his head in disgust. She almost seemed to be pleading with him but he didn't reach out to her. Her cries quieted down until they stopped. Her face relaxed but she didn't take her gaze from him. He watched, still so angry with her as her optics flickered and finally went off. It was over. He turned his back to her and left the room.

Her last thought as she watched him walk away, _All of it. Why? _Then the darkness came.

* * *

It ain't over til a fat bot sings! 


	16. Autobot Angels

A/N: Okay. Here's the last chapter in _this_ volume of the story.

* * *

To anyone staring in the small porthole on the door, nothing would have looked out of place. Just a white room with a recharge bed and one window that looked out upon the stars. Seated directly in front of the window and staring out amongst those stars sat one lone figure. Scarred from battle, the figure didn't move but always remained at that window. Countless patrols through that wing of the ship and countless attempts to get the beings attention resulted in nothing.

Moonracer frowned while she checked the internal sensor display next to the door. Everything seemed normal. Vitals were stable, just the robot inside never answered. It had been a full megacycle since they'd found her and taking vital signs seemed to be the only sign that the robot was indeed, still alive. Logging the vitals into her data pad, the light green femme turned on her heel and headed back towards the bridge.

* * *

"Anything new?" Arcee asked Moonracer who was just now entering the bridge. She leaned forward checking the early warning systems and sensors before looking up at the green and white femme who had stopped next to her chair.

"Nope. Still staring out of the window." The normally bubbly femme said with a slight tone of disappointment in her voice. Laying her data pad down on the ledge by Arcee's hand, Moonracer sat down at a chair not far from the pink femme, resting her head in her hands. "'Cee its been a full megacycle. Do you _really_ think she's gonna snap out of it? I mean, she's catatonic in there. I've never seen anything like it."

"Pit, what makes you think she'll snap out of it and not go nuts seeing all of us here?" A sarcastic Chromia added from across the room at the weapons systems station. "That femme could wake up from shock and Primus knows what her reaction will be."

Arcee rolled her optics and whipped her chair around, leveling her optics on Chromia who only gave her a sarcastic and challenging grin, waiting for Arcee to speak. Seeing her friend's look, Arcee answered her cooly and calmly, "Look, I may not know her that well. But I do know that she was contemplating leaving them at one point but was held back by... something." Arcee wasn't about to tell all of Heatseeker's secrets. She'd let the femme do that whenever, if ever, she woke up. "Looks like she has no choice now. She could have easily died back there. Just self terminated but she didn't. Now, maybe she's just trying to work through what happened. I seriously doubt she'll go nuts and just start coming after us. Plus, what few weapons were left on her, we managed to disarm her of anyway." Not waiting for Chromia's response, Arcee turned back around to her station and kept her eye on the ship's aft sensors.

"I only hope you're right, 'Cee. I do." Chromia said as she too turned back to her station carefully monitoring the weapons sensors array for an anomalies.

Arcee looked down at the data pad Moonracer had left for her and checked the past few logs. "Looks good, 'moony." She smiled at the younger femme. "When I'm off post here, I'll go down and see if I can get her to react to something." Moonracer smiled in response as Arcee handed her the data pad back. Arcee watched the light green femme get up and leave before returning to her duties._How in creation does she stay so up beat?_ She wonders to herself thinking about Moonracer's uncanny ability to look on the bright side of everything. She snorts to herself and completes the last cycle of her watch, thinking of how she'll get Heatseeker to "snap out of it" as Chromia keeps saying.

* * *

Arcee stands at the door to the room that Heatseeker is in with two cubes of energon in her hands. Still seated at the window, the femme hadn't appeared to move once since they departed Cybertron. She leans down and hits the button for the door with her elbow and waits as the door swooshes open only pausing for a second to look down the passageway at an approaching Elita-one who nods at her to enter.

Arcee walks into the room, the door softly wooshing behind her. She turns to check it has closed and sees Elita's face in the porthole. She smiles back at her leader as she approaches the sitting Heatseeker. The smaller femme places the two cubes on the floor in front of the red femme and sits down, resting her back against the wall and facing Heatseeker, who now is to her right. Looking up at the taller femme, she is momentarily shocked by the look on her silver face. Her optics are off but open giving her a rather ghastly look. Her face plates seemed to have rested in a grimace. She appears to only be a shell of her former self.

The evidence of struggle is wrought across the seeker's carapace of armor. A lot of anger was present in that fight. It was unfair to hit her so hard. It was obvious not only by the extent of the damage sustained by Heatseeker but also the manner in which they left her, hanging on the statue in a manner than said she was meant to be a message or an example. Arcee can't help but feel chills looking at the once rather regal looking femme, not reduced to shredded and crushed metal but still hanging on to life for some unknown purpose, scarred, dented and in places, mangled.

"Hey, Heatseeker." She says lightly beside the catatonic femme, waiting for some sort of response. She gets none. She tries again, "Bet you weren't expecting to see me huh?" Still nothing. She looks towards the window in the door and sees Elita motion for her to continue. Arcee raises her hands up and mouths 'What do I say?' to the rose colored femme. Elita opens up the comms in the room and her voice echos in, "You're doing great. You know her. Just keep talking." Arcee raises an optic ridge and smiles nervously, giving Elita a thumbs up sign.

Leaning her head back against the wall, she stares at the white ceiling. "We're going to get you fixed. You'll be better. You can start over again. I promise." Arcee places a reassuring hand on Heatseeker's right arm, the one that isn't mangled and lets it rest there for only a minute. "You have friends amongst us, Heatseeker."

The red femme still does not respond. Arcee pulls her knees up to her chest and watches the Seeker for a few minutes in silence before rising up from her seat on the floor and up onto her feet. She rests her hand on Heatseeker's shoulder as she steps towards the door, "It'll get better. It has to." The pink femme walks to the door, motioning for Elita to open it for her. She shuts it securely behind her before reaching to shut off the light in the room. She gives a tight smile to Elita, then looks back through the porthole saying "It's about that time" softly while turning off the light inside. Only the silhouette of Heatseeker is visible through the small window in the door.

"How much longer?" Arcee asks Elita, still staring into the room.

"Just a few more cycles." Elita answers assuringly to the feisty pink femme as she begins to walk away towards the bridge of the ship, Arcee quickening her pace to catch up.

"Good. Does he know what's going on?"

"Yes. And he's prepared. Primus only knows what Alpha Trion could have planned this time around." Elita chuckles softly as she thinks of the ancient Autobot. They'll meet with him soon and begin the next phase of their part of the war.

* * *

Inside of the now darkened room, Heatseeker still remains seated and impassive at the window that stares out amongst the trillions of stars beyond. Silent and like a statue, she doesn't move a single appendage or even blink her still unlit optics. Yet one small stream of dim light runs down her cheek in the form of an energon tear.

Only one.

Only one to represent all that has happened. She knows that from here, her life will change and she too will discover a new chapter or beginning in her now unsure path in life.

The tear trails down her silver cheek and hangs, perilously, for a second from her chin before plummeting through moments of time and space onto the floor before her. She does not move but remains in place, matter and stars streaking by as they approach their destination. That is when life will change.

To be continued...


	17. Second chances

A/N: I know... this starts off slow but I think it's necessary to move on. This will be the last chapter in this story. I will post the second volume shortly.

* * *

When they came to get her, she was ready. She was not kneeling by the window but standing by the door. Her optics where aglow but only as dim remnants of their prior flaming appearance. She said nothing, her face showed no reaction. She felt like a hollow shell of her former self. She looked not at a single one of them and paid her surroundings no attention as she was moved from their transport ship into a wide dark room of no discernible purpose. That was until she saw the ancient looking mech headed their way. She did not change her demeanor but she listened intently to the conversations that carried on around her.

"Elita!" a long pause carried on as the old mech studied her carefully as if sizing her up. "They did a lot of damage to her didn't they?"

"Yes," the ranking femme answered back from some place to her right which she couldn't see. "Apparently, treachory against the Decepticons results in a fate worse than death. Well, a quick death that is."

Alpha Trion turned from studying Heatseeker's wilted form as he spoke to Elita, "a living pit. Hmmm.. she can be fixed." The ancient robot raised a caring hand to Heatseeker's shoulder connected to her undamaged arm. "She'll be even better than she was prior to this." At that moment Heatseeker felt a mind enter her own._What did they do to you child?_ She wasn't sure if he had intended for her to read what he said or not but for the first time in cycles, she acknowledged another being as she looked up at him, her optics momentarily flaring with hope or interest.

_Ahhhh, you heard me._ The older mech smiled at her.

She didn't smile back but she did answer him. _Yes. _

_So you're a telepath then?_

_Yes. No. I'm a mild telepath. I can only communicate telepathically with other telepaths. For the most part, I'm empathic. _

_Interesting._

_Not interesting enough to save my tail when I needed it. _She chuckled aloud, starting all of the femmes standing around her. This was her first audible sound that she had made since they'd found her.

_What to you want, young one? _

_To live. I just want to live to fight again. Right my wrongs..._ At that moment she sent a mental image to him. An image of how she saw herself fighting back and not falling down. So much info in such a short burst of time. Alpha Trion smiled back at her and nodded as he gently guided her from Chromia and Arcee's grasp and into his own.

"I'll take her from here. Go. Go rest. I'm sure you all need it." He motions towards the area where the other femmes can make themselves more comfortable. They all give their thanks and move away, Arcee being the last , gives Heatseeker a friendly pat on her undamaged hand. "Remember what I said. It can only get better."

* * *

She still hadn't said an audible word to the mech as he guided her down passageways and finally ending at a set of tall double doors. They entered into a spacious room that was obviously a lab and workshop. He brought her towards the center of the room and there they stopped.

"You sent me an image. Is that truly how you see yourself now?" Alpha asked her aloud.

Her voice hadn't been used once since the ambush, attack, hell she didn't even know what to call it. It cracked as she forced her vocal circuits to awaken from their slumber. "Yes."

"Alright."

"I am a ghost of my former self." She said carefully, her voice cracking and popping while she strained it over her damaged vocal processors.

"This will be painful." Alpha says as he motions towards the wires, tubes, automated arms and tools hanging about a large metal operating chair in the center of the room.

"I'm a Decepticon. Pain is part of my job description." She says flatly, stepping onto the platform that supports the chair.

"Very well." He says, helping her into the chair, "The first step will be the system scanning you the assessing your particular damages on how to improve upon them and your current configuration. The painful part comes after that."

"Nothing a little stasis lock can't cure." She lies perfectly still as the scanner rolls over her body and takes the measurements it needs. There are two ways to end up placed in stasis lock. Forced and voluntary. Voluntary is a choice one has when too much damage has been inflicted upon the body or energy levels are too low. Internal sensors give the damaged mech or femme the option of going into stasis lock to repair themselves before they sustain damage that is near incapacitating or they can choose to ignore alerts and continue on. Forced can happen two ways, either the system shuts down after too many attempts at warning are ignored and it can just no longer take any more, this is a self preservation safety procedure, or the other is to have someone else place you in stasis lock. Sort of a hard shut down. If a robot is shut down externally, they can only be woken up by an external source. This is the manner in which Heatseeker is about to be placed into stasis lock.

No sooner does the scan complete, does Alpha Trion appear back at her side again. She remains silent as her helmet is removed, which is an odd sensation that she can not remember having felt before. She watches as he smiles down at her, she can feel his fingers on the back of her head. "It's okay." he says calmly as she feels him press down on a panel that moves aside giving access to the switch that will off line her. "It can only get better from here." are the last words she hears before the darkness comes.

The Seeker's optics go dark and her body relaxes in the chair. The sensors attached to her show no activity in her processors. Completely offline. Alpha Trion carefully attaches wire after wire to different locations on her central processor before leaving the system to do it's work.

Off lined. It's like being in a coma of which you can't wake up. Mental limbo.

A dreamland were your memories can take shape again. Over and over, the last few million years of her life play out before in some frail dance of the mind. Life recorded history, she sees her life over and over again in all of it's painful and or happy glory. It's from this that she vows to grow new strength. New power. New control.

* * *

_Okay, is this real or is it a memory too?_

"Huh?" Those were her first words in deca cycles. The hoarse groan the followed sounded alien to her. It took a moment, for the realization that it was her own voice, to kick in. Her optics powered up and she couldn't help but squint from the light. "So bright..."she mutter softly.

"Welcome back." Said a voice from somewhere behind her. Fluttering her optics she tried to look around even thought the light was blinding. Thats when she saw the old mech beside her staring down. "You're optics barely needed any enhancements but they will be a bit sensitive to the light. I've turned it down low enough that it should only take a few astro seconds to adjust. " She feels strong hands helping her sit up. Looking around, she is still in the room she had been in when she went off line. Nothing had changed there but what had changed was her.

Heatseeker looked down at her feet in disbelief. _Black! _She was no longer red but black. Black with a deep purple hue to it. She felt a smile grow on her face plates. The old mech before her smiled back at her reaction and held a hand out to his side. "Come. Come see for yourself."

He helped her down from the chair and guided her over to a smooth and polished wall towards the back of the room. The stillness in which she stood staring at her reflection spoke millions of words against her silence. Shock. Before her, reflected in the near perfect surface of the wall stood a black Seeker. No longer as boxy as her frame had been before, she now stood sleek and lithe. She _looked_ faster. She couldn't help but laugh at that thought. Heatseeker turned around from side to side looking at any angle she could possibly see, her eyes wide in disbelief. A stranger stared back at her. A stranger who's bad side she wouldn't want to be on.

Her gaze traveled upward. Her face was the same. That hadn't changed and she smiled back at it not in vain, which would not have been a surprise had she done so, but in recognition of something familiar on this alien form that was now her body. She raised her right hand to her face and touched her cheek, leaning forward staring at her optics which were no longer red but an odd purplish color.

"I only slightly modified your optics. Amazing design and engineering went into them. You should be able too see a little bit further than you were capable before." He rested a hand on her shoulder, "Try your face shields."

Heatseeker looked back at the mirror and did as he requested. She took a step back in surprise as not only did an eye shield lower, but an lower face shield rose into place as well. She raised her hands to the mask covering her face. A smooth black shield covering her entire face gave her the ghostly illusion of not having a face. She smiled wickedly behind the mask and laughed to herself, her wings raising up slightly as she did so. She reached behind her, to where her swords used to be and was pleasantly surprised to see that she now had new ones. She pulled them out, stepped back and twirled them around in her hands, a joyous laughter erupting from her vocal circuits. She then sheathed the swords and raised her face shield, turning to the ancient mech beside her. She smiled at him and said only two words, "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Come. Sit. Lets talk. I have a few things to explain to you."

They moved away from the mirror and back to the chair. Heatseeker took a seat in it while Alpha Trion pulled a screen into place that showed a diagram of her frame before and after the reconfiguration.

"As you can see, your platform is still the same. You will find that you are slightly faster than before and if anything, more maneuverable. I reconfigured your altmode which you will see upon your first transformation. I will warn you. It will garner you much attention though as a jet of this design has not been seen before. An improvement on the last but a new design. You'll be the first."

Heatseeker smiled at the news. She gets to be the first. A new generation of Seeker. She couldn't be happier.

"You said you wanted to be a ghost of your former self, hence the face mask. Your red optics are a dead giveaway to where you came from but their design was so perfect that I didn't see a point in changing much. The color was as far as I could go to change that. But after running many tests, I noticed that should you loose your temper or get angered, they flare red. Theres nothing I could do without changing them more. Your mask should hide any flares."

Heatseeker nodded in response.

"You have your swords and knives again but they are well hidden and relocated to accommodate your new design. You have a larger weapon on your left arm and your strength has been increased slightly but only as much as I could manage with the slighter build." He looked up as the image on the screen above them switched to a cut away.

"Were you aware of your spark casing's structure?"

"No. Why?" Her voice hadn't changed. She was thankful, to hear another voice coming from this new frame would be unsettling.

"It was heavily reinforced. Strange design if you ask me. Nearly indestructible and that is why you survived what would have possibly killed many others. Even your fluid distribution lines are reinforced. Who ever designed your base frame wanted to ensure that you would be around for a while."

Heatseeker snorted. The news didn't surprise her. _How ironic_, she thought to herself. _Didn't want me easily destroyed but had no problem walking away thinking that I was..._ She pushed the thought away.

"Alright, there's a lot you'll learn about yourself with time. There are only two more things that I want to make you aware of before you can try to familiarize yourself with, well, yourself..." He smiled at her. "You have a secondary vocal processor."

"I do?" Now she was perplexed.

"Yes, try it. Feel it." He gave her a look that a creator gives their sparkling when teaching them how to walk and raised his own hand up to his chest, just below his neck. "Its here." Heatseeker paused for a minute before activating the foreign feeling processor in her upper chest. The sound that came out of her startled her, causing her to jump. A modulated voice seemed to leak out from between her lip components. "What?" She asked questioningly but the voice which denoted no gender classification also revealed no emotion. "This is incredibly strange." She now sounded enough like that bastard Soundwave that it left her feeling uncomfortable.

"With your complete face shields in place and by using this voice, no one will have a clue as to who or what you are." Alpha Trion looked very pleased with his final product.

That sounded good to her. The smirk that curled up her lip components made the now black and silver femme with purple optics, look quite menacing.

"One last thing. I did some reprogramming in your central processor. You're now a bit more than empathic. No other telepaths needed now. I will warn you, though, they are minor enhancements. You'll have to learn on your own how to use them. You will also be at risk against a stronger level 5 telepath. You are now only a three at the most."

_Pit._ She only knows of one level 5. She still stood no chance against a telepathic attack from Soundwave should she be faced with him again.

Alpha Trion stood up and held his hand out to help her up. "You're a new femme, Heatseeker. You get a second chance. Make sure you do this life right."

She stood still for a moment, thinking about his words. She walked back to the reflective wall and admired her new body. No insignia's, no badges, nothing aligned her to any faction. She was a mystery. "Enigma." she whispered lightly.

"What was that?"

She smiled at him as she turned around to face him. "Enigma. I am an Enigma. Heatseeker is dead."

It's time to start anew.


End file.
